20,000 citizens demand swift enactment of tobacco control ordinance to Government

An application signed by nearly 20,000 citizens from diverse professions across the country was submitted today (March 10) to the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding that the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 be passed as a law in the first session of the National Parliament.

The petition was jointly submitted on behalf of citizens from various groups—including physicians, teachers, students, youth, women, journalists, and business professionals—by several anti-tobacco organizations: Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP), National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, Nari Maitree, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), and the Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote (TABINAJ).

The application states that tobacco use is one of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh, including cancer, heart disease, and lung diseases. Each year, nearly 200,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses in the country. In order to strengthen tobacco control measures and make the law more effective in protecting public health, the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 has already been issued. However, if the ordinance is not adopted in the first session of Parliament, it will automatically lapse.

Representatives of the anti-tobacco organizations emphasized that swift passage of the ordinance into law is essential to protect children, women, and the younger generation from the harmful impacts of tobacco and to fulfill Bangladesh’s international commitments on tobacco control.

They also called upon the relevant authorities to take immediate and effective steps to ensure that the ordinance is enacted into law without delay.