Bangladesh at a crossroads: Protect lives, not tobacco industry

Bangladesh has long stood as a pioneer in global public health, becoming one of the first nations to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). At the heart of this treaty lies Article 5.3, a powerful provision that recognizes a simple truth: the interests of the tobacco industry are fundamentally and irreconcilably opposed to public health. By signing this treaty, the government made a solemn pledge to protect its citizens from the devastating harm of tobacco and to keep policymaking free from industry interference. This was not a symbolic promise but a binding commitment to shield the nation from one of the most destructive commercial epidemics in human history.

That is why the recent reports of a planned meeting between government officials and tobacco company representatives are so alarming. Such a meeting is not an exercise in dialogue or balanced engagement; it is a dangerous breach of the country’s treaty obligations and a betrayal of public trust. Allowing the very corporations whose profits depend on addiction, disease, and death to participate in policymaking gives them a direct opportunity to weaken the very laws meant to control them. Around the world, the tobacco industry has perfected a strategy of delay and deception, using lobbying, backroom negotiations, and well-funded corporate social responsibility programs to infiltrate policy discussions, sow doubt, and derail life-saving reforms. Bangladesh is not immune to these tactics, and the proposed meeting risks opening the door to precisely the kind of industry interference the FCTC was designed to prevent.

The economic realities make the danger even clearer. Far from enriching the nation, tobacco is a net drain on Bangladesh’s economy. According to the National Cancer Survey 2018, the annual medical expenses for treating tobacco-related diseases are 27% higher than the revenue generated from tobacco each year. While the government earns about 220 billion taka in annual tobacco revenue, the treatment of illnesses caused by tobacco use costs around 300 billion taka every year. Behind these figures are thousands of families pushed into poverty as they struggle to pay for cancer treatment, heart surgery, or chronic respiratory care. Every cigarette sold increases the burden on hospitals and households, while the industry continues to claim—falsely—that stronger regulations will harm government revenue. In fact, past amendments to strengthen tobacco control laws have not reduced revenue at all; revenues have continued to rise, proving that the industry’s fiscal warnings are nothing more than a smokescreen to protect profits.

The existing Tobacco Control Act 2005 (amended in 2013) has several proposed amendments from the Health Services Division to bring it into greater alignment with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Key proposals include: eliminating designated smoking zones in public places, a complete ban on the display and advertisement of all tobacco products, protection of youth from the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, banning the sale of single sticks of cigarettes and bidis, prohibiting tobacco companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR), and increasing the size of pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packaging to 90 percent.

Bangladesh stands at a critical crossroads, facing a defining choice between integrity and compromise. The path forward will determine whether the nation upholds a future where health, accountability, and democracy prevail, or allow profit-driven interests to dictate policy while the human toll of tobacco continues to rise. The government’s next move will reveal whether it remains true to its historic commitment under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to protect its people from one of the world’s most lethal industries. Public policy cannot be treated as a commodity to be bargained away, nor can the well-being of millions of Bangladeshis be sacrificed for the financial gain of a few powerful corporations. To honor this responsibility and safeguard the nation’s health, it is urgently necessary to pass the proposed amendment to the existing tobacco control law without delay. This is the moment to act decisively and secure a healthier, tobacco-free future—let’s do it.

Mohammad Raisul Islam: Nari Maitree Youth Advocate Against Tobacco & Student of BUP