In Bangladesh, tobacco companies are poorly respecting the anti-smoking law

As the Bangladeshi government plans to launch a massive anti-smoking awareness campaign, tobacco companies are flouting the tobacco control law. Public health officials are calling on authorities to better enforce the law.

Despite having ratified the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004, Bangladesh is a country where smoking prevalence continues to rise. It is paying a heavy price, with 161,200 deaths attributable to tobacco each year, or 20% of annual deaths, approximately half of which, according to the WHO, are due to cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases.

In an attempt to stem the rise of smoking, Bangladeshi authorities have planned a major series of awareness campaigns on the risks associated with tobacco.[1]. Focusing on forms of smoked tobacco, it covers both cigarettes and the widely consumed bidis (rolled tobacco leaves). Designed in partnership with the Vital Strategies organization, this series of campaigns has four components. It will be broadcast over four two-month periods between 1^er November 2023 and June 30, 2024, on television and on major social media. These efforts to communicate with the general public are, however, countered by promotional actions developed by the tobacco industry.

A multitude of violations noted

The Smoking and Use of Tobacco Products Act, 2013, provides for a complete ban on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products. It also includes bans on smoking in public places and the placement of graphic health warnings on tobacco products. In addition, the Dhaka local government's Tobacco Control Implementation Instructions prohibit the sale of tobacco to minors and the establishment of tobacco vendors within 100 meters of a healthcare or educational institution. They also increase the fine for smoking in a public place to 300 taka (2.54 euros) from 50 taka (0.42 euros).

Bangladeshi health officials have, however, noted a large number of breaches of these anti-smoking provisions, particularly on the part of cigarette manufacturers, in around twenty localities in the city of Khulna.[2]Free cigarette distribution operations have been identified, as have the distribution of gifts to customers and retailers. Retailers are encouraged to increase sales, including to children and teenagers. Advertising stickers are placed outside stores. Cigarette company employees wear promotional clothing, and their vehicles in the company's colors travel around town.

Smoking bans are not being enforced in hospitals, public transport, and other public places. Films and TV series seem to be showing more and more characters smoking recently. Schoolchildren in uniform are also filming themselves smoking in public places and posting it on social media, even though smoking in public was once frowned upon. As part of corporate social responsibility (CSR), tobacco companies sponsor youth sports competitions, which they then use in promotional campaigns.

Passivity of public authorities

Kudrat-e-Khuda, secretary general of Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN), believes that the business practices of tobacco companies in this country have become particularly aggressive. He attributes this trend to the administration's lack of responsiveness. British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) are the two main cigarette companies he blames. The close contacts and conflicts of interest that they maintain with members of the government and Parliament would explain in particular the inertia of the authorities in the face of the violations observed. However, Article 5.3 of the FCTC formally prohibits this type of relationship with tobacco manufacturers.

Health stakeholders (Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance, Aid Foundation, SHUJAN, etc.) are calling on public authorities to better enforce anti-smoking legislation. They are calling for the establishment of mobile courts that can punish violations committed by tobacco manufacturers. With this in mind, they are collecting evidence of various offenses with a view to criminal prosecution. They are also calling for greater compliance with the current provisions banning smoking in public places. They are also expected to issue recommendations calling for a ban on vaping products, particularly given their increasing use among Bangladeshi adolescents and young adults.

Keywords: Bangladesh, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, violations, tobacco control law

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