PROGGA demands cancellation of meeting with tobacco industry to prevent global treaty violation 

The Advisory Committee tasked with revising the draft amendment to Bangladesh's tobacco control law has decided to hold "stakeholder meetings" with tobacco companies—a move that has sparked serious concern among public health experts and advocacy groups.

The decision taken on 13 July during a committee meeting chaired by the Finance Advisor, relates to the draft Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024.

In response, research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), in a press briefing released today (24 July), warned that any engagement with the tobacco industry or its affiliates in drafting laws, policies, or regulations related to tobacco control—whether by offering proposals, opinions, or participating in the process—would constitute a clear violation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), specifically Article 5.3 Guidelines.

Bangladesh was one of the first countries to sign the FCTC in 2003 and ratified Article 5.3 in 2008. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also developed and implemented national guidelines in line with this article.

"Engaging in discussions with the tobacco industry while drafting tobacco control laws would represent a grave violation of FCTC Article 5.3 for a signatory country like Bangladesh," said ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA. He urged the Advisory Committee to revoke its decision and expedite the passage of the draft amendment. 

The amendment process began in 2021 to strengthen the Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) Act, 2013. After the draft was circulated for public feedback and inter-ministerial review, it was placed before the Advisory Council on 7 November 2024. A high-powered Advisory Committee was formed on 9 December 2024 to finalise the revision.

Currently, 35.3% of Bangladeshi adults use tobacco, causing nearly 161,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of disabilities annually.