Anti-tobacco activists rally against govt meeting with tobacco companies

Anti-tobacco youth activists in the capital staged a march on Saturday, demanding that the government immediately revoke its decision to meet with tobacco companies and ensure the rapid passage of the proposed amendment to the tobacco control law.

The march began at the Central Shaheed Minar and concluded at Shahbagh, drawing hundreds of young people and representatives from various anti-tobacco organisations.

The activists’ primary concern is a recent decision by the Advisory Committee, formed to review the draft amendment, to hold a meeting with the tobacco industry.

They argue that this move is a direct violation of Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which prohibits tobacco industry involvement in the formation of public health policies. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the FCTC.

The event was inaugurated by Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, a renowned economist and former caretaker government advisor, who expressed his solidarity with the youths’ demands. “The harmful effects of tobacco are scientifically undeniable,” he said.

At the conclusion of the march, participants, representing organisations such as Dhaka Ahsania Mission and the National Heart Foundation, handed over a list of their demands, signed by nearly 10,000 young people, to a representative of the Chief Advisor’s Office.