Tobacco.org

Smoking in a Bangalore hotel? Not anymore 

Non-smokers can breathe a sigh of relief. The reason: The Bruhat Bangalore Hotel Owners Association (BBHOA) has decided to implement the guidelines laid down by the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) regarding eateries and directed city-based hotels owners to restrict people from smoking inside hotels.

On the occasion of World Cancer Day on Saturday, the association decided to set up 'smoke-free zones' inhotels. According to COTPA (revised in 2008), smoking may be permitted only in smoking zones in restaurants, bars and pubs.

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• An addiction to tobacco 

Tobacco is a new crop in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. But it has been promoted actively. Hidden here is the tale.

Chittagong’s inhabitants are tribal people who have, for generations, practiced shifting cultivation or Jhum farming. The other set of farmers are the settlers who were brought in by the government from the plains of Bangladesh. They had little or no knowledge nor culture of farming.

Tobacco cultivation is strictly prohibited in CHT. Yet, tobacco companies are doing brisk business. Tobacco farming has been introduced by big business houses who have not only introduced the crop but also invested in the know how and the disseminating the package of practices that go with the crop. Besides, they motivate the farmers openly by offering incentives in cash and kind to cultivate tobacco.

The cultivation of tobacco not only poses a threat to the public health but also to the environment in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

The forest cover of CHT also comes handy to process the tobacco and up to 70,000 metric tonnes of firewood are burnt in 2,000 tobacco processing kilns every year.

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• Amendment to tobacco control law demanded 

The Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance on Thursday demanded amendment to the tobacco control law in order to reduce diseases and deaths caused by tobacco consumption.

Leaders and activists of the alliance made the demand from a human chain in front of the faculty of fine arts in the capital.

They said, according to a survey conducted by the alliance, around 57,000 people died and 38,2000 contracted various diseases because of tobacco consumption.

The existing anti-tobacco law of 2005 was a positive step towards development of public health, but because of some loopholes in the law it could not take total effect on the people.

The cigarette companies, going against the clauses of the law, continued to find new techniques to attract people into smoking, they alleged.

A large chunk of the population is illiterate and so unable to understand the health awareness grounds.

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Is There Any Association between Use of Smokeless Tobacco Products and Coronary Heart Disease in Bangladesh? 

Conclusions

There was no statistically significant association between SLT use in general and CHD among non-smoking adults in Bangladesh. Further research on the association between gul use and CHD in Bangladesh along with SLT use and CHD in other parts of the subcontinent will guide public health policy and interventions that focus on SLT-related diseases.

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• Tobacco-related diseases kill 57,000 in BD a year 

Every year over 57,000 people die of tobacco related diseases in Bangladesh. Concerted efforts are needed to fight against diseases caused by tobacco, said speakers at a roundtable in the city Monday.

Tobacco consumption is still high in Bangladesh even after five years of passage of a Tobacco Control Act in Parliament. Adequate enforcement and the amendment to the Act are necessary to plug the loopholes to fight against tobacco menace.

Treatment cost for tobacco-related illness in the country is estimated at Tk 50.9 billion including Tk 5.8 billion for passive smoking, they mentioned.

The observation came at the roundtable on "Tuberculosis and Tobacco Control" at the VIP lounge of the National Press Club.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and the country's leading financial daily The Financial Express jointly organised the roundtable.

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• Amendment of Tobacco Control Law in offing  

The proposed amendment of the 'Tobacco Control Law-2005' islikely to be introduced in the current session of the Parliament and it mayalso be passed in the session.

According to sources, the draft of the amendment has alreadybeen sent to the Cabinet and it may be approved at its regular meeting soon.After approval of the Cabinet, it will be sent to the Parliament forenactment.

Dr Arup Ratan Chowdhury, a member of National TobaccoControl Cell, said the draft has already been signed by Health and FamilyWelfare Minister Prof Dr AFM Ruhal Haque and it may be passed in the currentsession of the parliament after the Cabinet's approval. . . .

After finalising the draft by the working group, theproposed amendment was being delayed allegedly due to intervention of differenttobacco companies and some MPs of the ruling alliance.

The MPs are involved in business related with tobaccoproducts and for this reason they were lobbying strongly for not approving thedraft, fearing that if the amendment is passed their income will be reduced, itwas alleged.

So, the draft remained in the table of the Health Ministerfor his signature as he was unwilling to give his signature although the draftwas finalised some months ago.

The proposed amendment of the 'Tobacco Control Law-2005 'keeps some rules which go against tobacco companies and smokers.

Direct and passive advertisements for tobacco products willbe banned after enactment of the amendment. Pictorial health warning oncigarette packets will also be compulsory.

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Impose high tax on tobacco  

The government should impose high tax on tobacco products to rein in soaring consumption of the harmful products for the sake of public health, said speakers at a discussion meeting yesterday.

They also recommended introducing uniform tax for all cigarette brands, as the existing four-tier tax system based on the pricing is discriminatory and offers scopes for tax evasion.

They said a large number of tobacco consumers are from lower income groups, so an increase in income tax does not affect them. As a result, tobacco consumption sees rapid growth every year.

The observations came at a policy dialogue styled "Tobacco: Is there a way out?" at the conference centre of The Daily Star in the capital.

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20 hurt in agitation over pay 

At least 20 people were injured as police charged batons on Dhaka Tobacco Industries' workers yesterday after they blocked Dhaka-Narsingdi road demanding pay hike.

Police said workers of a factory of Dhaka Tobacco staged street demonstration demanding increase in their wage in front of the main gate of the factory from 7:00am to 11:00am.

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Low earners smoke more 

Although use of tobacco is widespread in Bangladesh, it is higher among the lower socio-economic groups in both rural and urban areas, says a recent study.

Moreover, the prevalence of smoking goes down with increasing levels of wealth in both rural and urban settings in the country.

The Centre for Control of Chronic Diseases in Bangladesh conducted the study among 39,038 individuals

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Stringent law soon to check tobacco use 

A bill for the amendment of the Tobacco Control Act 2005 would be placed in the next parliamentary session, Chief Whip Vice-Principal Abdus Shahid said yesterday.

Considering that there are some limitations in the law, the amendments will be brought in so that it can work more strongly to control tobacco use, he said.

The Jatiya Sangsad goes into next session on October 20.

The chief whip was addressing a discussion on "Death of 50 lakh people due to tobacco and smoking, and implementation of FCTC" organised by Manas, an anti-drug organisation, at Jatiya Press Club in the city. . . .

Quoting the International Tobacco Control (ITC) 2010 survey, Manas founder president Dr Arupratan Choudhury said some 12 lakh Bangladeshis are currently suffering from eight different diseases related to tobacco use.

He said two-thirds of the world's smokers live in 10 countries, and Bangladesh is one of them.

Presenting the keynote paper, Dr Choudhury demanded the existing tobacco act broaden the definition of tobacco products including jorda, gul, and smoke-free tobacco goods and fix the amount of fine at Tk 500 instead of Tk 50.

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• Govt mulls ban on smoking in factories 

The government is considering imposing a ban on smoking at factories and educational institutions, the law minister says.

Attending a discussion organised by the National Anti Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) on Thursday, Shafique Ahmed said the government would be doing everything needed to ensure public health and healthy environment for all.

Under the current law of 2005, smoking at public places is barred and offenders are penalised Tk 50, but no steps are there yet against the producers.

However, later in 2006, a guideline was formulated.

The minister said the draft of a 'stricter law' was under the health ministry's consideration and "it'll soon be tabled in the cabinet for initial approval, and will later be sent to the law ministry for final nod". . . .

Smokeless tobacco products, like zarda, sada pata and gul, have been incorporated as 'tobacco products' in the draft law that suggests pictorial health warnings covering 50 percent of a cigarette packet to discourage smokers.

At least 40 countries in the world have forced tobacco companies to use such warnings.

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Tobacco firms take aim at Bangladeshi, Asian women 

Bangladeshi chest doctor Kazi Saifuddin Bennoor has seen many misleading cigarette advertisements, but the one that suggested smoking could make childbirth easier plumbed new depths.

Advertisements telling smokers they are smarter, more energetic and better lovers than their non-smoking counterparts are a familiar sight across Bangladesh -- something unimaginable in most other countries.

One in a rural area, Bennoor remembers, said that "if a lady smokes, her baby will be smaller and it will be easier to deliver, the labour will be less painful".

"These are very ruthless advertisements," said Saifuddin, an associate professor at Bangladesh's National Hospital for Chest Diseases.

The promotion is being linked to an alarming rise in tobacco use in the impoverished South Asian country, particularly among women and the young -- a trend repeated across many developing countries, anti-tobacco groups say. . . .

"(Tobacco use) has become an epidemic among rural women. It's a very serious health issue," a government advisor on health, Syed Mudasser Ali, told AFP, adding that anti-smoking laws were poorly enforced. . . .

The country fits a pattern emerging across the region of rising rates of female tobacco use, particularly in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia.

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• Bangladesh mobile court fines smokers 

Mobile courts in Bangladesh continue chasing down violators of the country’s tobacco law.

With the help of non-government orgainsations (NGOs), the local government in the Kustia Sadar sub district formed a mobile court in July to fine people for smoking in public places, including the Bittipara Bazar and Kustia-Jhenaidah Highway. Four bus drivers were also fined for smoking in their buses. The court also removed illegal cigarette advertising.

In Bangladesh, mobile courts are created to enforce laws for certain violations such as smoking in public places, displaying tobacco ads or selling tainted foods. Power under the court is limited to a relatively small fine (50 taka or $US0.72 for public smoking and 1,000 taka or $US 14.40 for illegal advertising) and a short jail sentence.

Since 2005 district and sub district officials in Bangladesh have created more than 1,000 mobile courts.

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LETTER: Discourage smoking 

The government decision to enhance customs duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products has been hailed by the conscious people of the country. The step has been taken in an apparent bid to bring about a curtailment in the consumption of cigarettes which takes a heavy toll of lives in our country as well as in other parts of the world every year. . . .

A smoker cause harm not only to himself but also to the person before whom he smokes. This is, in other words, known as 'passive smoking' which arguably is more dangerous than direct smoking. Keeping this in view, the government has, in the recent past, enacted Tobacco Control Act' prohibiting smoking in public places. But implementation and application of the law continues to remain a far cry. However, the government must be strict in enforcing the law if it wants to prove its sincerity in controlling the use of cigarettes and similar products.

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[Video 5 of the cigarette companies to pay a fine collection depot from 9 silagala] 

East of the current market price and the price of cigarettes were sold to phemse bitrisa komampanira Meherpur American office. Mobile court Tuesday evening, the American company's operations continue to bitrisa Meherpur silagala depot and pay a fine of Tk 0. Mobile courts in various hotels in the same environment, and dirty food, dirty restoyaya daye 9 thousand 5 hundred paribesanera pay a fine of Rs. The Mobile Assistant Commissioner Abu Sayeed Meherpur district court directed the administration.

China Mobile, which can be substantial, Meherpur bus stand sanlagma bitrisa tobyake American companies to go dipote incompatibility is observed. Gold Leaf Company, marketable, and the star byanasana cigarette packets and 011 - the cost of writing, there are 01 in the previous budget. The budget is set to cost much, but the company does not sell cigarettes. Mobile Magistrate Abu Sayeed said the court, the company violated consumer rights laws in the East and the current price of cigarettes are sold. June 16, according to the government's decision to list the date of sale of cigarettes to the value of the East was. It was found that all prrba sigaretagulo dipote that value. The new value for a cigarette.

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