Partners seek effective action under interim government

The target of making Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040 and reducing tobacco-related non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths by one-third by 2030, as per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is being hindered in various ways. The primary obstacle is the lack of initiative to revise the existing law and implement an effective 'Tobacco Control Law' with strict enforcement. Since there is no elected government or national parliament in place, development partners, NGOs, and youth activists involved in the anti-tobacco movement have urged the interim government to take steps through the issuance of an ordinance.

In 2017, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the goal of making Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040. To achieve this, an initiative was taken to amend the existing "Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005 (Amended 2013)" due to its weaknesses. However, political pressure has stalled this decision for the past seven years.

Ibrahim Khalil, Project Officer of Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy, said that, according to the "Packaging Regulations 2021" and the "Consumer Rights Protection Act," the inclusion of the production date on product packaging is mandatory. Yet, cigarette companies are not complying with this law. While 59% of smokeless tobacco products (such as jarda and gul) have production dates on their packaging, only 3% of bidi and cigarette packets include this information. By omitting the production date, tobacco companies are also exploiting loopholes to evade taxes. Additionally, they are taking advantage of the tobacco control law by not displaying the required pictorial health warnings in a timely manner.

Development partners said that the interim government is committed to working without yielding to undue pressure or wrongdoing. Hence, they believe now is the time for effective action, including the formulation and strict enforcement of laws. Anti-tobacco activists are also organizing various programs to provide action plans and recommendations for achieving this goal.

The newly appointed Director General of the NGO Affairs Bureau, Md. Saidur Rahman, told Views Bangladesh that although the issue falls under multiple ministries, no coordinated meeting has been held so far. The ministries of Health, Youth and Employment, and Education have not yet worked together on this matter.

Calling for the elimination of this disconnect, he emphasized that since the interim government has taken initiatives for reform and is working accordingly, now is the time to pursue coordinated efforts.

Md. Saidur Rahman also mentioned that although hundreds of local NGOs have played a significant role in Bangladesh’s development over the past few decades, only nine of them are working on tobacco control. If all NGOs could be brought into this process, it would be possible to achieve the country’s targets, including the SDGs. He added that the campaign to stop tobacco use must start at the secondary school level. The roles of teachers and parents are crucial here, and the right steps must be taken from the beginning.

The hindered initiative for law reform
However, in 2017, the then-government announced plans to draft an amendment proposal as the existing law was not fully aligned with the FCTC. In 2022, the Health Services Division of the Ministry of Health drafted the amendment proposal, and on June 16, it was published on the National Tobacco Control Cell's website for public consultation. During that time, over 16,000 citizens, including 169 Members of Parliament, provided positive feedback. On December 29 of that year, the Ministry of Health submitted the final amendment proposal to the Cabinet Division for preliminary review.

Although the final amendment was presented at a Cabinet meeting in September of last year, it was sent back without approval for unknown reasons. H.M. Noman, the Executive Director of the Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP), said, “I was present at the signing of the 'Tobacco Control Act, 2005.' The amendment to the law has been going from one office to another and one table to another for years.” He believes that immediate action from health and legal advisors is necessary to resolve this issue.

Influence of powerful groups
DORP Youth Champion and Research Officer Tabassum Khanam Ratree told Views Bangladesh, “Whenever there is talk of reasonable reform in the legal framework for tobacco control, we have seen various organizations and tobacco companies stepping in to obstruct the process. Even trade organizations have opposed government initiatives. For example, in September 2022, the National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh (NASCIB) wrote a letter to the Prime Minister opposing the passage of the amended tobacco law.”

She alleged that the tobacco companies' strategic manipulation and interference surrounding the amendment process continue unabated. Hasan Shahriar, head of the tobacco control project at PROGGA, told Views Bangladesh that tobacco companies are attempting to exert influence in six ways: sending letters to government offices (such as the NBR, Ministry of Health, and the Prime Minister’s Office), using front groups and associations, manipulating policymakers through biased opinions from so-called experts, employing third-party techniques, publishing columns or articles, and running paid media campaigns. He added that that PROGGA has records of at least 20 such incidents.

Mohammad Zobair Hasan, Deputy Executive Director of DORP, stated that to implement the FCTC, signed in 2003, and achieve the SDG targets, it is crucial not only to formulate a strong 'Tobacco Control Law' but also to curb the influence of tobacco companies.

Why and what actions are necessary
On September 17, PROGGA and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) held a discussion meeting at the BMA building in Dhaka. PROGGA highlighted that the Tobacco Control Scorecard published this year by the Tobacconomics team from Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health presents a disappointing picture for Bangladesh.

The Cigarette Tax Scorecard is based on four factors: low prices, easy availability, tax structure, and the share of taxes in the retail price. Bangladesh's overall score is only 1.13 out of 5, down from 2.38. Bangladesh performed poorly in all four factors, and the score dropped by half this year due to a zero rating in availability, according to Hasan Shahriar of PROGGA.

During the meeting, it was suggested that Bangladesh has the opportunity to improve its score on the Cigarette Tax Scorecard by raising the price of all types of cigarettes in line with inflation and income growth, increasing the supplementary duty on lower-tier cigarettes to at least 70% of the retail price, and transitioning from a multi-tier ad valorem tax system to a uniform specific or mixed (specific and ad valorem) tax system.

Abdus Salam, programme manager of CTFK Bangladesh, told Views Bangladesh, “Our country has a four-tier tax structure for tobacco products. Around 75% of tobacco consumers in Bangladesh smoke low-tier cigarettes. These low-income individuals spend nearly one-fourth of their income on cigarettes. By raising the price of low-tier cigarettes, these 75% of consumers will no longer be able to afford them, which will also reduce the smoking rate.”

Dr. Mustafizur Rahman, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) needs to take the initiative to reduce its reliance on tobacco companies for revenue. He added that imposing a specific supplementary duty on cigarettes, rather than a percentage-based tax on the retail price, would increase government tax revenue and reduce the chances of tax evasion by cigarette companies.

At a seminar titled "Effective Taxation on Cigarettes," held on September 26 by the private research organization Unnayan Shamannay, Dr. Suzana Karim from the Health Economics Department of Dhaka University said, "Despite tobacco control organizations highlighting the need for effective taxation on cigarettes in public discussions for several years, the lack of progress is due to the influence of powerful groups."

Dr. S.M. Zulfiqar Ali, Research Director at BIDS and President of the programme, remarked, “After recent political changes in the country, there is a golden opportunity to move away from the traditional tax approach on cigarettes and implement effective taxation. Now is the time not only for effective taxation but also for taking other necessary measures.”

What the youth want
On September 26, DORP organized the Tobacco-Free Youth Convention 2024 at the NGO Affairs Bureau Auditorium in Agargaon, Dhaka, and on September 28, a training workshop was held in Shewrapara. More than three hundred youths participating in these events demanded the passage of the amended Tobacco Control Law through an ordinance.

Kamrun Nahar Cynthia, a DORP Youth Champion and undergraduate student, told Views Bangladesh, “The interim government faces various constraints in passing the law. Therefore, we have called for the passage of the amended Tobacco Control Law through an ordinance so that whichever government comes to power, they can recognize it as a full-fledged law.”

She said that the youth presented six proposals for tobacco control, which include banning the display of tobacco products at points of sale, prohibiting the promotion and sale of loose tobacco products, restricting the social responsibility activities of tobacco companies, and banning the import, production, use, and marketing of e-cigarettes and emerging heated tobacco products. They also demanded that the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging be increased from 50% to 90%.

Abdus Salam Mia, programme manager of CTFK Bangladesh, said, “At various workshops in September, we observed that young anti-tobacco activists are calling for the amended Tobacco Control Law to be passed through an ordinance.”