Staff Correspondent

Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter has stated that deaths from tobacco-related diseases are not natural; rather, they are acts of murder.

She emphasised that deaths occurring due to tobacco use, which otherwise wouldn't happen, are essentially murders that we are knowingly allowing.

She made these remarks as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Progress in Amending Tobacco Control Laws and the Involvement of Doctors in Building a Tobacco-Free Bangladesh," organised by the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh at the SIRDAP auditorium on Thursday afternoon.

The Fisheries and Livestock Adviser noted that robust tobacco control laws play a significant role in building a healthy nation.

Despite being aware of the harms of tobacco, compliance is lacking. Therefore, measures must be taken from production to sales to prevent tobacco use. Tobacco is destroying the environment and, as part of the environment, it is significantly harming the fisheries and livestock sectors.

The seminar was presided over by Professor Dr Fazila-Tun-Nesa Malik, General Secretary of the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh. Honoured guests included Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health (Programme Director of the National Tobacco Control Cell) Sheikh Momena Moni, Director General of the National Tobacco Control Cell Md Akhtaruzzaman, and Lead Policy Adviser of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Md Mostafizur Rahman.

The keynote was presented by Professor Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Institute. Other speakers included Professor Golam Mohiuddin Faruq, President of the Bangladesh Cancer Society, and Dr Muhammad Sakhawat Hossain, Member Secretary of the Anti-Tobacco Advocacy Bangladesh Lung Foundation. The seminar was attended by over fifty doctors and nurses from various medical colleges across the country.