A delegation from PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) met with Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin on Monday (10 March) at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat to discuss strengthening tobacco control laws.
During the meeting, the delegation highlighted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's (MoHFW) proposal to amend the law to eliminate designated smoking areas (DSAs) and ensure a 100% smoke-free environment. They emphasised that DSAs in hotels and restaurants expose non-smokers, including women and children, to secondhand smoke as cigarette fumes escape when individuals enter or exit the zones. Hospitality workers are also at risk of passive smoking while on duty.
The delegation also cited statistics from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2017, showing that tobacco use prevalence in Bangladesh stands at 35.3%—the highest among South Asian countries—compared to 28.6% in India and 19.1% in Pakistan. Tobacco-related deaths in Bangladesh claim nearly 161,000 lives annually, posing a significant challenge to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3, which focuses on health and well-being. The financial losses caused by tobacco-related diseases far exceed the revenue generated by the tobacco industry.
The delegation comprised Mortuza Haider Liton, ATMA Convener; Nadira Kiron, ATMA Co-Convener; Md. Shafiqul Islam, Business In-Charge of Bangla Tribune; ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA; and Md. Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs at PROGGA.
The Commerce Adviser assured the delegation of his support in promoting measures to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
