Anti-tobacco activists urge Bangladesh to reject COVID vaccine by tobacco industry

The anti-tobacco organisations of Bangladesh have urged the government to reject any offer from any tobacco company to provide COVID-19 vaccine.

They have also applauded World Health Organization, or WHO, for rejecting COVID vaccines by multinational tobacco company Phillip Morris and called on the government to follow suit.

They made the call from a virtual discussion meeting recently organised by anti-tobacco alliances.

The WHO, on Mar 2, 2022, rejected the inclusion of Canadian Medicago COVID-19 vaccines in the list of emergency use as the company is partially owned by Phillip Morris, said a press release.  

The discussants said that in order to combat COVID-19 outbreak, Canada has already provided Bangladesh with AstraZeneca vaccines which is highly appreciated.

However, this is not the same for Medicago vaccines and such donations should be rejected as the vaccine is not approved by WHO, they added.

As a signatory of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), accepting this vaccine will be a violation of FCTC Article 5.3 for Bangladesh, they said.

Moreover, in order to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, there should be no negotiation with a company that is behind another pandemic (tobacco).

WHO has already approved nine vaccines so far that are free from the tobacco industry association and Bangladesh has been accepting these WHO-approved vaccines.

Bangladesh should also collaborate with the international platform Covax in future to meet its vaccine needs, said the press release.

Representatives from anti-tobacco organisations including Bangladesh Cancer Society, TABINAJ, AID Foundation, BNTTP, TCRC, National Heart Foundation, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Voice, MANAS, PROGGA, STOP, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Vital Strategies, and The Union participated at the event.