Environment Department declares all offices 100% smoke-free

The Department of Environment (DoE) has declared all its offices 100% smoke-free to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

From now on, all activities of the department will follow national tobacco-control guidelines and maintain a smoke-free environment.

The announcement was made on Wednesday (10 December) at a joint event organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission and the DoE at the department's headquarters in Dhaka. Speaking as chief guest at the programme titled "Declaration of All Offices of the Department of Environment as 100% Smoke-Free," Director General Dr Md Kamruzzaman, NDC, said: "To protect officers, employees, and visitors from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, we have decided to declare the department 100% smoke-free."

In his keynote presentation, Md Shariful Islam, Coordinator of the Tobacco Control Project at Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said tobacco smoke contains around 7,000 chemicals, including 250 known to cause fatal diseases. More than 130,000 people die from tobacco use annually in Bangladesh, while 42.7% of non-smokers in indoor workplaces and 21.6% in government offices are exposed to secondhand smoke. He added that smoking has severe environmental consequences, with 40,490 tonnes of toxic waste from cigarette butts and packets generated each year, and 4,139 fire incidents recorded in 2024 due to burning cigarette ends.

Delivering the welcome address, Iqbal Masud, Director of Health & WASH Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said 37.8 million people in the country use tobacco products, including 19.2 million smokers. Around 40 million non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, while more than 61,000 children suffer health complications as a result. He stressed that all public places must remain fully smoke-free to protect public health.

Speakers noted that although government, semi-government and autonomous institutions are designated smoke-free under the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act 2005 (Amended 2013), the provision allowing optional smoking zones continues to expose non-smokers to health risks. They called for the urgent passage of proposed amendments to abolish designated smoking areas in all public places.

The event was presided over by Parvez Chowdhury, Director of the Department of Environment, and moderated by Khadijatul Kubra. Discussants included Mokhlesur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Health Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission; Marziana Muntaha, Coordinator of the Ahsania Mission Youth Forum for Health and Wellbeing; and directors from various DoE divisions.