Tobacco companies have managed to exploit the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to the fullest for their benefit, study shows.
The tobacco companies have particularly used their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) as a pretense to infiltrate into policymaking and administration and extract a variety of benefits.
While Bangladesh has made progress to some extent in the implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3, it is not satisfactory at all, the study report suggests.
Bangladesh has scored 68 in the Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020 meaning that the country is still highly vulnerable to the interference of the tobacco industry.
Such findings have been presented in a study report titled ‘Tobacco Industry Interference Index: FCTC Article 5.3 Implementation Report, Bangladesh’, unveiled Saturday in Dhaka.
The study report has been released to the public through an online zoom webinar, jointly organised by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA).
Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, said, tobacco is an essential product but only for causing death, not for life.
“It cannot be on the list of essential commodities in any way. Rather it is contrary to the fundamental Right to Life enshrined in the Constitution. I have already submitted a Private Member’s Bill to exclude tobacco from the list of Essential Commodities.”
He also added that to provide tobacco companies incentives from Covid 19 stimulus fund is totally unacceptable.
Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, former additional secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and former Coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) said the government has recently taken steps to amend the Tobacco Control Act.
He said the health ministry should undertake awareness raising of non-health sectors, particularly in vulnerable ministries such as finance ministry, industries ministry, commerce ministry and agriculture ministry about article 5.3 obligations so that these ministries become aware of recurring and multi-faceted interferences of tobacco industry especially during the ongoing amendment process of tobacco control law.
Prof. Dr. AAMS Arefin Siddique, Chairman, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and president of the event said that Covid-19 has pointed it to us how detrimental tobacco use can be.
“Tobacco use prevalence is such a problem which cannot be tackled only by the sole effort of MoHFW. All ministries should make a concerted effort to curb this havoc.”
The study shows that the tobacco industry has used the CSR programs of companies as a pretense to get closer to policymakers, government officials and administration in order to exploit this connection to extract different benefits and to interfere in tobacco control activities.
In addition, the companies have publicized their CSR activities as much as possible to salvage their corporate image among the public.
In the recommendations of the study, it has been stressed that all types of CSR activities of tobacco companies must be banned through an amendment of the law.
Besides, it has been recommended to make other ministries aware of the obligation to comply with Article 5.3.
Since different ministries of GoB are not fully aware of the obligations of the government in tobacco control, tobacco companies find it too easy to confuse these entities, the example of which can be found in the events that took place during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The study was conducted with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP), is part of a global publication of the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) at the School of Global Studies in Thammasat University.