Tobacco industry sways media before budget

A section of Bangladesh’s leading newspapers plays dubious role in promoting tobacco by carrying out pro-tobacco news, articles and editorials before the budget session to “prevent tax hike and strong legislation”.

An analysis of tobacco-related media coverage shows that most of the pro-tobacco stories against taxation are carried between April and June in the lead-up to the budget session.

Ten leading newspapers – categorised on the basis of their circulation – were found to be carrying most stories that go in favour of tobacco industries during that period.

Electronics media too was not an exception. Most of the ‘talk shows’ to discourage price hike, on tobacco products, particularly local hand-roll cigarettes, are held in that period.

Correspondents of those newspapers admitted that they were ‘discouraged’ to write anti-tobacco stories. Anti-tobacco campaigners say tobacco industry’s influence over media is not new.

“Many media houses survive on advertisements from tobacco industry,” said US-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ Coordinator Taifur Rahman.

Last month when the amended tobacco control law was placed in Parliament, an editorial in a leading Bengali daily advocated the need to keep designated smoking zones in public places arguing that those addicted to it cannot give it up easily.

Ignoring World Health Organisation’s recommends against keeping smoking zones, as the passive smokers in those zones would be as affected as smokers, the parliamentary standing committee on health kept the provision.

A senior correspondent of that daily has told bdnews24.com that he was asked not to write anti-tobacco stories.

“Our owner has a packaging company that works with some tobacco companies. I used to file anti-tobacco reports. But when I started to write in-depth stories, it suddenly came to the notice of our owner. I was told not to write anything on tobacco.

“Even if the newsroom finds the word tobacco in any of my news, they spike my report,” the journalist lamented, adding their newspaper publishes advertisements of tobacco industries.

A senior correspondent of another Bengali daily said his anti-tobacco stories face rejection in the newsroom. His chief reporter blocks those stories on the pretext that their editor ‘does not like to see those stories’.

“But suddenly I discovered that I was fed wrong information. Some key people in the newsroom actually have good relations with a big tobacco company and they are against anti-tobacco stories.

“I used to see a man coming every day in my newspaper office. He was a public relations officer of a tobacco company.”

The scribe said he had to be ‘cautious’ while writing anti-tobacco stories. “Even I was accused of being bribed by anti-tobacco campaigners for reporting the issue.”

An anti-tobacco group, Progga Knowledge for Progress, analysed 1225 newspaper articles, news stories, editorial appeared between April and June last year.

According to it, 65 percent of those ‘pro-tobacco’ reports were published in top 10 newspapers. Other newspapers, surveyed by the group, carried 23 percent pro-tobacco news during the same period.

Twenty percent of those reports in the leading newspapers directly campaigned against any hike in tobacco taxes and prices. It was 11 percent in other newspapers.

Senior journalist Muzammil Hussain says ‘it’s the duty of the media’ to write anti-tobacco stories for the sake of public health.

Tobacco kills 57,000 people in Bangladesh while affecting more than 350,000 people with various ailments.

“If a reporter is pressurised against writing anti-tobacco stories from within the organisation, it is obvious that tobacco companies are influencing the media,” he said.

“It can be through advertisement or bribe. Such trend needs to be rejected.”

“In the absence of any proper argument in their favour, the tobacco companies try to entice journalists to write in their favours,” he said.

Taifur Rahman said tobacco companies used to advertise their products in newspapers regularly prior to banning of such advertisements under tobacco control law in 2005.

“But they still publish big advertisements in top newspapers under the guise of advertising their activities like CSR.”

They also sponsor special supplements and media awards.

“Such commercial relations can influence reporting and that is why we often find confusing stories related to tobacco appearing in media.

He further pointed out that he had noticed that before budget reports about illicit trade or smuggling of tobacco were often published.

“Such report basically tries to suggest that any hike in taxes on tobacco products would increase their smuggling.

“They also try to give the old argument that any adverse impact on the industry would lead to loss of revenues and employments. This is in contrary to WHO’s finding that government actually spends more money in treating tobacco-related ailments than the revenue it earns from the industry.”

Rahman said they were demanding lifting of price slabs on tobaccos and slapping 70 percent taxes on all tobacco products.

A study showed with 43.3 percent adults smoking or chewing tobacco, Bangladesh is one of the cheapest source of tobacco products in the world.