Significant points from Honorable Minister’s speech:
Brief on the round table:
A key note was presented. Participants discussed on emerging tobacco products with some recommendations to attract honorable minister’s attention. Mr. Shamim Haider Patwari MP harmonized his voice with the participants and said, immediate actions is needed to ban emerging Tobacco products before it spread out in epidemic form in Bangladesh. E-cigarettes are not made in Bangladesh and all those are imported. Moreover, government does not get any remarkable amount of revenue from it. He opined that relevant ministries like- ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information should take initiative in this regard. In addition, he strongly emphasized on removing emerging Tobacco products from the import list. He added that e-cigarettes have not yet been included in the prevailing tobacco control law in Bangladesh. It is important to take immediate legal action to save future generations from this.
Honorable Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud has given patience hearing and said that immediate steps must be taken to protect our youths from the harm of emerging Tobacco products or e-cigarettes. As E-cigarettes are imported and government earns a very little revenue from it, therefore, importing e-cigarettes should be banned in all respects. In addition, he shared that though India already banned emerging tobacco products, in considering all aspects especially health harms there is no obstacles to ban it in Bangladesh as well.
Founder and President of National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, National Professor Brigadier (Rtd.) Abdul Malik, presided over the round table meeting. Foundations' Secretary General Professor Khandaker Abdul Awal (Rizvi) delivered the welcome note.
Representatives from NTCC, different anti-tobacco organizations, CTFK and media houses participated in the program. Participants at the open discussion, moderated by Professor Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head, Dept. of Epidemiology & Research, shared that e-cigarette sales were banned in 23 countries, including India and Sri Lanka, and under strict control in 41 countries due to potential health risks. Since e-cigarettes are not a direct tobacco product, it is difficult to bring them under the control of existing tobacco control law in Bangladesh. Unless there is a law, it is important to ban e-cigarette marketing through online shops. At the same time, steps must be taken to stop its import.
The round table was covered by a huge number of media stories in print and electronic media.