Tobacco companies lobby hard

Tobacco companies are continuing to lobby in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, delaying implementation of a ‘key’ provision of the new tobacco control law.

The law was passed on April 29 with a provision to introduce pictorial health warnings on tobacco packets to deter smokers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for putting pictures strong enough to influence smokers to give up.

But for this to be implemented, rules are needed to specify what pictures industries would print covering 50 percent space on both sides of the packets.

The rules would also give companies a time frame to switch to new packaging.

But eight months after the law came into existence, the rules are yet to be finalised.

Tobacco companies are now pursuing the health ministry to give them at least 18 months after the rules are enacted for the proposed changeover.

But anti-tobacco campaigners say that would only delay implementation of the law.

bdnews24.com obtained a copy of the letter the Cigarette Manufacturers Association had given to the health secretary.

The Association submitted their demands to the Ministry and also met the health Secretary in the first week of this month.

However, according to the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) that Bangladesh ratified in 2004, policymakers cannot meet or discuss with the tobacco industries’ on formulating policies.

“Parties should interact with the tobacco industry only when and to the extent strictly necessary to enable them to effectively regulate the tobacco industry and tobacco products,” read the FCTC’s article 5.3.

It added: “Where interactions with the tobacco industry are necessary, parties should ensure that such interactions are conducted transparently.

“Whenever possible, interactions should be conducted in public, for example through public hearings, public notice of interactions, disclosure of records of such interactions to the public”.

Health secretary MM Neazuddin who is new in the ministry told bdnews24.com that he had told the relevant desk to send the rules to the law ministry for vetting on Tuesday.

He, however, would not reply to questions. “I have told them to send it to the law ministry, so you understand we released it,” he said.

Officials who work closely in framing the rules told bdnews24.com said they could not decide how many months they would allow for the transition.

Requesting not to be named at least three officials said they were told to give at least a year to the industry for the changeover.

A senior official, however, said they would take a final decision after checking on global practices. “It will take some more days”.

However, WHO suggested implementing the pictorial health warning provision within six months of finalising rules -- only in extreme cases could that be extended to a year, it says.

Most countries gave the tobacco industry six months for phasing out their earlier printed packets and switching to new packaging.

India is the latest example, say anti-tobacco campaigners, because it introduced pictorial warning from Apr 1 giving industries six months for changing over.

Coordinator of US-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Taifur Rahman told bdnews24.com that there was much evidence to suggest six months was enough of a time for the changeover.

“Even in Canada, the tobacco industry initially tried to convince the government but they had to do it (in six months),” he said.

The usual argument the industry gives is they need to buy new equipment for starting the new packaging.

“They come up with the same argument across the globe, but that is false,” he said, “They already print very sophisticated, colourful and attractive packets. So there is no need for any special new machinery”.

“The six month period is to phase out already printed materials,” he said.

The government issued gazette notification for the new tobacco control law on May 2 and the committee started to work on the rules in July.

They finalised it by Oct and it was posted on the website for public comments.

Public health proponents see the suggested tobacco packaging as a chance for health education as the pack-a-day smokers are exposed to horrific images printed on packs at least 20 times a day and 7,000 times a year when they buy and smoke cigarettes.

Globally, pictorial warnings are recognised as a highly cost-effective means to increase awareness of the adverse effects of tobacco, and to reduce its use.

International guidelines under the FCTC recommend that “warnings should be as large as is achievable, should include a rotating series of graphic pictures and should be on both the front and back of packages”.

At least 63 countries have already compelled the tobacco industry to print such pictorial warnings.

After Australia introduced their pictorial warning labels in 2006, 63 percent of non-smokers and 54 percent of ex-smokers thought the new labels “would help prevent people from starting smoking."

Singapore introduced its pictorial warning labels in 2004 a survey of its Health Promotion Board later found that 28 percent of the smokers surveyed reported smoking fewer cigarettes because of the warnings.

The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) in a study showed that 97 percent of the smokers thought that pictorial health warnings on the tobacco packets would be “more effective for motivating them to quit tobacco use”.

WHO estimates 57,000 people die of tobacco-related illness a year while nearly 300,000 suffer disabilities in Bangladesh where more than 43 percent people aged 15 and above consume tobacco in some form or the other.

It took nearly four years for the government to pass the new law revising the 2005 law.