Effective role of media is a must for tobacco control, experts say

Tobacco-related illness claims 161,000 lives each year in Bangladesh and cause hundreds of thousands of disabilities

Tobacco, the largest contributing factor to preventable deaths, globally claims over 8 million lives each year, according to a group of experts.

The two-day journalists' workshop titled "Media for Tobacco Control in Bangladesh" took place at BMA Bhaban from Jan 15 to Jan 16.

The workshop, organised jointly by PROGGA or Knowledge for Progress and

Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance, or ATMA, was attended by 27 journalists from print, television and online media outlets.

Apart from the loss of lives, tobacco also wreaks havoc on the vital socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors at play in society, the experts said. To prevent multifaceted losses caused by tobacco, a vigilant role must be maintained on issues such as strengthening of relevant laws, adoption of robust tax and price measures, and the ill tactics of tobacco companies, the speakers said.

It was informed that the prevalence of tobacco use among 15 year olds and above demographic stands at 35.3 percent. Tobacco-related illness claims 161,000 lives each year in Bangladesh, causing hundreds of thousands of disabilities.

A 2019 study, conducted by American Cancer Society, reveals that in FY 2017-18, the financial loss, incurred by medical expenses and loss of productivity, was Tk 305.6 billion, an amount much higher than the revenue of Tk 228.1 billion generated from tobacco.

In this way, tobacco is posing a growing threat to the public health, economy and environment of Bangladesh, they said.

Speakers also added that tobacco is a major impediment to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). There is no alternative to strengthening tobacco control law to achieve SDGs by 2030. The draft amendment of tobacco control law, prepared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) includes eliminating provision for designated smoking areas (DSAs) in all public places and public transport, banning display of tobacco packs at points-of-sale, banning corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes of tobacco companies, and banning import, production and sale of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products.

Speakers urged the government to ensure swift passage of the amendment, one that is free from interference from tobacco companies.

In addition, increasing prices of tobacco products is globally recognised as an effective method to discourage tobacco use, they said. The tobacco taxation structure of Bangladesh is faulty which has rendered tobacco products cheaper and more affordable. Against this backdrop, the government must bring tobacco products out of the purchasing capabilities of the people by imposing specific supplementary duty and gradually decreasing the number of price tiers of cigarettes from 04 to 01.

Among the discussants present during the two-day workshop were Md Mostafizur Rahman, former chairman (Grade 1) of BCIC, Dr Sohel Reza Chowdhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research, National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, Zahirul Alam, Head of News, NTV, Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA, Mizan Chowdhury, Co-convener, ATMA, and ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA.