Staff Correspondent

Speakers at a journalists' workshop on Wednesday called for greater efforts to uncover the deceptive tactics of the tobacco industry, emphasizing the need to protect public health.

A total of 51 journalists from print, television and online media houses participated in two workshops organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) at BMA Bhaban in the capital.

They said though tobacco use claims 161,000 lives each year in Bangladesh, tobacco companies never take responsibility for such a huge loss of lives caused by their products.

On the other hand, these companies never stop resorting to a wide variety of deceptive tactics.

They also said only a vigilant media can play a vital role in exposing the true intentions of tobacco companies.

At the workshop it was shared that tobacco companies have recently sent letters addressed to the respective advisers of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs where these companies presented a number of “fabricated information” supporting the industry's claim that amendment of tobacco control law would negatively impact revenue inflow of the government.

However, the reality is quite the opposite, they said, as information provided by the NBR shows that following the first tobacco control law in 2005, revenue earned from the cigarette sector increased by 17.97 percent and 37.52 percent in FY 2005-06 and FY 2006-07 respectively.

Similarly, the 2013 amendment of the tobacco control law was followed by remarkable growth in revenue earning from the cigarette sector which were 25.51 percent and 46.52 percent in FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-15 respectively.

Speakers also said, amendment of tobacco control law hardly has any relation with any potential job loss.

According to the 2021 Wholesale and Retail Survey report, conducted by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the number of retail shops in Bangladesh stands at 15,39,000. However, shops that sell tobacco along with food, drinks and other consumable items are only 196,341 in number. This shows that the tobacco industry has intentionally magnified this number to intimidate and mislead policymakers, they said.

It was also informed that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken the initiative to amend tobacco control law in 2021, with a view to aligning the existing Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2013 with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

Speakers said that consulting tobacco companies and related lobby groups about formulation of public health policy would constitute a clear breach of FCTC Article 5.3. Bangladesh signed WHO FCTC in 2003 as one of the first countries in the world.

In addition, as discussed in the workshop, each year ahead of national budget formulation, tobacco companies utilize a number of business associations to influence the budgetary process and grab as much trade advantage as possible.

Financed by factory owners, so-called bidi workers' organizations take to streets protesting any possible price hike in bidi, instead of raising demands for livable wages and hazard-free work environment, they said.

The companies also resort to other ill tactics such as publishing columns and opinion pieces in media outlets, penned by its loyalist economists and experts and sending DO letters written by key influential figures in its favor, they added.

It was also informed that the prevalence of tobacco use among 15 year olds and above demographic stands at 35.3 percent. A 2019 study, conducted by American Cancer Society, reveals that in FY 2017-18, the financial loss, incurred by medical expense and loss of productivity, was BDT 30,560 crore, an amount much higher that the revenue generated (BDT 22,810 crore) from tobacco.

Among the discussants of the workshop were Md. Mostafizur Rahman, former Chairman, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation; Riaz Ahmed, Executive Editor, the Dhaka Tribune; Sazzadur Rahman, Deputy Editor, the Business Standard; Doulot Akter Mala, President, Economic Reporters Forum; Liton Haider, Convener, ATMA; Nadia Kiron and Mizan Chowdhury, both co-convener of ATMA; ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA, and Md. Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs, PROGGA and others.