Anti tobacco bill watered down

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday finalised the draft of the new anti-tobacco law recommending control, instead of a ban, on publicising tobacco products under corporate social responsibility.

The final draft of Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2013 would be presented in the Parliament for approval.

The bill says, “None can use the name, sign and trademark of tobacco or tobacco products and of the manufacturers while participating in social work or disbursing money in such works under corporate social responsibility.”

The Bill, which is seeking amendment to the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act of 2005, was placed in Parliament by Health minister AFM Ruhul Huq on Mar 4.

The recommendation was made at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Although the anti-tobacco campaigners were demanding a tougher law amending the current one, the final draft does reflect some of what they were asking for.

After the meeting on Tuesday, committee Chairman Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim told journalists that various stipends and grants were offered by the tobacco companies, which promote public welfare, need not to be banned.

He said, the committee recommended raising the fine for smoking in public places to Tk 300 from Tk 100 in the draft of the new anti-tobacco law.

Mohammad Amanullah, Nazmul Hasan and Md Murad Hassan attended the meeting as the committee members.

The draft also includes ban on direct or indirect advertisement of tobacco products

In the statement about the objectives of the Bill, Parliament was told that around 57,000 people die of the diseases caused by tobacco use and another 382,000 lose their ability to work every year in the country.

Around Tk 50 billion are spent on treatment of eight smoking-related diseases every year, the statement further said, adding that a large portion of the money could be saved through controlling tobacco use.