Home ›› 02 Mar 2023 ›› News
Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP), a non-governmental development organisation, urged the government to enforce tobacco control laws strictly to achieve a tobacco-free country by 2040.
The country witnesses around 444 tobacco-related deaths each day as 35.3 per cent of people aged between 15 years old and above use tobacco products, according to statistics presented by DORP in a press conference on Wednesday.
The organisation also unveiled a draft proposal to strengthen tobacco control laws and ban the promotion, production, and marketing of tobacco products.
The draft proposal suggested strengthening the existing tobacco control laws and restricting smoking areas in all public places and public transport, banning the promotion, and display of tobacco products. The proposal also sought a ban on the social responsibility activities of tobacco companies and the import, manufacture, use and marketing of e-cigarettes.
Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina has declared a target to make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040, said the speakers at the conference.
A revised tobacco control law has been submitted to the Cabinet Division following the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, they said, adding that, this commitment by the government is an important step towards improving public health in Bangladesh.
Representatives of civil society, bidi workers, DORP Matri Sangsad and The Youth Forum also attended the press conference.
DORP has been involved in various development programs since 1987 and is currently working on tobacco control laws and increasing tobacco taxes to achieve the government's sustainable development goals.
