‘Tobacco lobbyist’s active’

Tobacco companies have appointed ‘powerful lobbyists’ to secure their interests by liaising with the government’s upper echelon, said State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam.

“There is a movement to control Tobacco use. Tobacco companies have appointed lobbyists to conduct negotiations at the highest level of power”, said the junior minister in a discussion against advertisement and sponsorship of tobacco products.

“We have passed a law to control tobacco use. But we had to overcome a lot of difficulties in order to do that. We must remember, the people of this industry are very influential”, Qamrul told anti-tobacco activists on Saturday.

“Their persuasions did not work due to the government’s good will. The government finally passed the law for the good of the ordinary people.”

Bangladesh will soon have a regulation to control tobacco use, he said.

“We are now busy with the budget. We will turn our gaze to forming a regulation as soon as our budget activity ends.”

According to World Health Organization statistics, smoking kills 6 million people every year, and the number is anticipated to rise to 8 million in 2013. Four and five of these deaths take place in low and middle-income countries.

The State Minister for Law shared his own experience as a smoker to describe the hazards of the habit.

He said, “I used to smoke a lot of cigarettes once. I stopped smoking almost 12 years ago. There is an interesting tale to why I stopped smoking. My three daughters came to me and said, father if you smoke, we will too. They said it very seriously. I stopped from that day and have not smoked a cigarette ever since.”

Research indicates that prohibiting tobacco advertising is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking.

Countries that have adopted this measure have shown an average of 7 per cent decline in tobacco consumption.

Qamrul said he believed people smoke due to poverty, boredom and lack of occupation.

“This is an addiction. This habit paves the way for other addictions, which eventually leads to destruction of families and society.”

Qamrul believes the anti-tobacco campaign has had its result. People don’t smoke in public transport and offices anymore, he said.

“But people in the city’s slums and those from the villages consume tobacco. Some use condiments (gul and jorda), stuff equally harmful. The huzur’s in our country don’t smoke, but they take tobacco in the form of ‘shada jorda’. All this has to be given up.”

An anti-tobacco activist Nazrul Haque drew attention to people smoking while in ‘government uniform’. He said the regulation should deal with this.

Shahinur Begum, an activist for women’s alliance against tobacco, said the tobacco companies had stepped up their activities.

Sales persons where now targeting garment factory workers to increase cigarette sales, she said.