Expose tobacco industry’s deceptive tactics to protect public health: Experts

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Tobacco companies continue to employ deceptive tactics to downplay the deadly impact of their products and expand their business, said speakers at journalist workshops held at BMA Bhaban, Dhaka, on 4-5 February.  

Organised by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), the workshops saw participation from 51 journalists across print, television, and online platforms.  

Speakers highlighted that tobacco companies have recently sent misleading letters to government advisors, falsely claiming that amendments to tobacco control laws would harm government revenue. However, National Board of Revenue (NBR) data shows revenue from the cigarette sector surged following past legal reforms—rising 17.97% in FY 2005-06 and 46.52% in FY 2014-15 after amendments in 2005 and 2013, respectively.  

Speakers also criticised the involvement of tobacco lobbyists in public health policymaking, calling it a violation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3, to which Bangladesh is a signatory.  

The workshops further revealed that tobacco-related illnesses claim 161,000 lives annually in Bangladesh, while the economic cost of tobacco use was Tk30,560 crore in FY 2017-18—far exceeding the Tk22,810 crore revenue generated from tobacco.  

Other key speakers included Riaz Ahmed, executive editor of Dhaka Tribune; Sazzadur Rahman, deputy editor of The Business Standard; and ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA.