Health Minister agrees for stricter Tobacco Control Act 

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday assured to amend the Tobacco Control Act for reducing the use of tobacco across the country. 

"The Health Ministry is working to build a tobacco-free country by 2040. To implement it as declared by the prime minister, strict measures will be taken to control tobacco use step by step," he said. 

The minister was speaking to a delegation of research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), said a press release. 

The team visited the minister to highlight the need to amend the tobacco act. 

Zahid Maleque noted that various steps have already been undertaken to curb the use of tobacco. 

"Previously, there was no use of pictures in tobacco products, but there is now. Besides, people were allowed to smoke in various public places including aircraft which has been regulated by law," he said. 

He assured that the current law will be amended to make it more up-to-date.

Progga and Atma put forward a set of proposals to consider while updating the existing tobacco act which includes Ensuring a 100% smoke-free environment by banning smoking in all public places, workplaces and public transport, including the abolition of designated 'smoking zones'; prohibiting the display of tobacco products; banning Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes of the tobacco companies. 

Prominent journalist Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Atma's Convener Mortuza Haider Liton, Co-Convener Mizan Chowdhury, Bangla Tribune's Business Incharge Md Shafiqul Islam and Progga's tobacco control program head Md Hasan Shahriar attended the meeting with the health minister.