Tobacco industry strategies to counter graphic health warnings in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi and British researchers studied the implementation of graphic health warnings in Bangladesh and found significant interference from tobacco companies on this issue.

In accordance with Article 11 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Bangladeshi authorities issued an amendment to the Smoking and Tobacco Products Control Act of 2005 in 2013 to supplement the textual health messages on tobacco products with images and illustrations. This amendment included enlarging these health warnings to 50 % of the packaging surface and placing them on the top of cigarette packs, whereas they had previously been located at the bottom of the packs and were regularly hidden.

Ten years later, following multiple interventions by tobacco companies, these warnings still appear at the bottom of packages. To explain this situation, a team of Bangladeshi and British researchers conducted a systematic study of information published on this subject in print and online media between March 2013 and November 2017.[1].

Multifaceted lobbying

The work of this team revealed several sources of interference from manufacturers, since the publication of this amendment. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which brought the amendment, was particularly subject to pressure from manufacturers, united under the banner of the Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers' Association (BCMA). British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB), which accounts for 70,% of cigarette sales in this country, was very active within the BCMA, but also acted alone in this lobbying action with members of the government and government agencies. Although the bidis[2] represent 25 % of the total smoked products, lobbying efforts were mainly deployed by tobacco manufacturers, unlike bidi manufacturers.

Among the government agencies targeted, the National Board of Revenue (NRB), responsible for collecting taxes, played a key role. relay industrial demands. Later, in 2018, this institution welcomed as its head a former director of BATB, who also held important positions at the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Health was also subject to pressure from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and was contradicted by the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC), even though it was under its authority.

A multitude of actions to oppose the amendment

Various methods were used to pressure the Ministry of Health. The first consisted of obtaining, under the pretext of technical constraints, an extension of the initial six-month deadline for the implementation of graphic health warnings. Meetings brought together industry, government agencies, and other ministries around the Ministry of Health. An extension of an additional twelve months was thus obtained after fifteen months of negotiations, postponing the implementation date of the measure by the same amount.

Several legal initiatives have also been launched by industry. The planned placement of health warnings at the top of packs was challenged by a legal expert, arguing that they risked obscuring the tobacco tax confirmation strips and could jeopardize tax collection. The BCMA filed multiple written petitions with the High Court challenging an NTCC circular, delaying the change in the placement of health warnings for many months.

Tobacco control organizations attempted to support the Ministry of Health's approach by organizing several high-profile events on the issue and rolling out a campaign of support in the media, on radio, and on social media. These efforts were disrupted, however, by the emergence of an unknown group, Action on Smoking and Health Bangladesh (ASH Bangladesh, independent of other ASH organizations), which has disrupted the anti-smoking consensus by relaying industry positions and has also filed a petition with the High Court.

A country under the influence of tobacco manufacturers

Despite being one of the first signatories to the FCTC in 2003 and ratifying it in 2004, Bangladesh remains a country particularly subject to tobacco industry interference. Its score on the Tobacco Industry Interference Index is 72 out of 100, indicating that the country is still heavily influenced by tobacco companies.[3]The fact that the Bangladeshi state itself is a shareholder in BATB to the tune of 10 % and that several ministers and senior officials do not hesitate to display their links with this industry is probably not unrelated to this phenomenon.

Keywords: Bangladesh, health warnings, BAT, interference.

MF

[1] Shahriar MH, Hasan MM, Alam MS, et al. Tobacco industry interference to undermine the development and implementation of graphic health warnings in Bangladesh, Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 25 April 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057538

[2]

[3] STOP, Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2021.