A Wari outlet of the superstore ‘Swapno’ in Dhaka has been fined again for violating tobacco control law.
Published : 12 Feb 2014, 05:35 PM
A mobile court led by Dhaka district magistrate on Wednesday fined the store Tk 60,000, which was double the penalty imposed on the superstore last September, for putting up cigarette advertisement in the store.
Magistrate Shelu Roy told bdnews24.com that she took the action as per the new tobacco control law.
Parliament amended the 2005 law on April 29 last year and a gazette was published three days later, mandating its immediate enforcement except some provisions that needed further clarifications.
The law banned tobacco advertisements in any form including at the point of sale. Penalties for its violation include three months jail or maximum fine of Tk 0.1 million, or both.
The penalty would be doubled for the repeat offenders, according to the law.
The government amended the law against the backdrop of the growing use of tobacco in Bangladesh. Study shows more than 43 percent adults either smoke or chew tobacco.
Swapno displayed cigarettes in a decorated shelf at the outlet’s entry point.
“(Cigarette) companies misled the store (Swapno),” the magistrate said. “They (tobacco company people) had given them a copy of the gazette, and told them displaying it would not violate the law.
“But the outlet managers did not read it (gazette). They thought the company’s interpretation was correct since it provided them with a copy of the gazette.
“They only understood when I fined them and then read the gazette,” Roy said.
She said she had also fined another shop ‘Sharif General Store’ Tk 10,000 for showcasing cigarette packets.
Besides, four people have been fined, Tk 300 each, for smoking in public places during the mobile court drive.
Iqbal Masud, an assistant director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission that provided technical support to the Dhaka district administration for conducting the mobile court, said several tobacco advertisements had also been destroyed at Wari market during the drive.
He said tobacco companies were ‘deceiving’ shop keepers to continue their advertisements.
“They cannot advertise by any means according to the new law. So they are using the shops by decorating it with company logos and colours violating the law”.
The law defined some places as public place like restaurants where smoking was banned and penalties would be Tk 300 with a provision of doubling the fine for repeat offenders.
Companies as well as businesses can be fined up to Tk 100,000 for violating the sections pertaining to advertisement, promotion and sponsorships.
According to WHO, tobacco is linked to about 57,000 deaths in Bangladesh annually.
In addition, more than 350,000 people suffer from various ailments, and the costs of treatment are double the revenue government earns from the industry.