Government committed to eliminating tobacco use: Chief whip
The Chief Whip said that the current government is working with the goal of completely eliminating tobacco use and is firmly committed to ensuring that its use does not increase further.
Controlling tobacco is now considered essential to protect the country's human resources, with the current government working to completely eliminate its use and firmly committed to ensuring that tobacco consumption does not increase further, Chief Whip of the National Parliament Md Nurul Islam said today (4 April).
He made the remarks today while delivering the keynote speech at a policy dialogue titled "Strengthening the Law on Smoking and Tobacco Use to Protect Women's Health", organised by the Tobacco-Free Women's Alliance (TABINAJ) with support from Development Alternatives Policy Research (UBINIG) at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka.
The Chief Whip said that the current government is working with the goal of completely eliminating tobacco use and is firmly committed to ensuring that its use does not increase further.
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He further said, "Without human resources, we have no other wealth. To protect these human resources, it is essential to prevent tobacco."
He noted that although people are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco, there is a lack of effective measures.
He also cautioned that in densely populated Bangladesh, the smoking of a single person indirectly harms many others.
Highlighting various obstacles in tobacco control, he said the sector is linked with strong commercial interests that seek to hinder control initiatives.
He urged tobacco farmers to switch to alternative crops, saying, "Farmers must move towards cultivating other profitable crops instead of tobacco."
He also warned about the unintended effects of negative campaigns. In the past, anti-drug campaigns in many cases created curiosity and increased interest, and the same could happen with tobacco, he added.
Highlighting recent government initiatives, he said loans of up to Tk 10,000 for farmers have been waived and farmer cards introduced, alongside measures for women's empowerment and allowances for imams and muezzins, reports BSS.
He also referred to government measures to save energy and environmental protection efforts such as canal excavation and tree plantation programmes.
Speakers at the policy dialogue demanded the swift transformation of the Tobacco Control Ordinance-2025 into law.
