Like that in Chattagram, selling of all sort of tobacco products including cigarettes, Bidi, Zarda and Gul has been banned in the shops adjacent to all educational institutions of Rajshahi city.
Hamidul Haque, Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi, recently took the initiative to impose a ban in selling of all tobacco products at the peripheries of educational institutions of Rajshahi City with immediate effect.
According to a survey conducted by a local non-governmental organisation, it is seen, targeting school and college students, multinational tobacco companies were engaged in illegal advertising of tobacco, specially, cigarettes and various incentives on purchase of tobacco products at the shops adjacent to educational institutions of the city.
Shariful Islam Shamim, Advocacy Officer of Association for Community Development (ACD), an NGO in Rajshahi, informed tobacco companies were targetting school and college going juveniles and youngmen and women of the country because 49 percent of present population of the country belonged to the young and juvenile groups.
Sharmin Subrina, Programme Director of ACD informed, ACD conducted a survey on advertisements and incentives on cigarettes by the tobacco companies this year where it was seen cigarettes were being sold in 77.95 percent shops within 100-metre of educational institutions, of those shops illegal advertisements and incentives on purchase of tobacco products are being exhibited in 82 percent shops. She thanked the Deputy Commissioner, Rajshahi, for his bold step to ban selling of cigarettes in adjacent shops of all educational institutions of the city.
Jamat Khan, General Secretary of Rajshahi Raskha Sangram Parishad informed, through the use of tobacco, the juveniles and young men and women of the country are being attracted to other fatal drugs that is why only an order of banning of selling cigarettes from adjacent shops of educational institutions will not be sufficient enough rather the district and the upazila education officers should direct all heads of educational institutions and supervise the enforcement of the ban of selling cigarettes adjacent to all educational institutions of the city and the district.
Hamidul Haque, Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi sadi, “Cigarette is the first step of other fatal drug addiction. So, I took step to ban selling of all tobacco products at all adjacents shops of all educational institutions of the city and directed all such shop owners to stop selling of cigarette and tobacco products immediately. Otherwise, we would conduct mobile courts and seize all sort of tobacco products from those adjacent shops. Already the mobile courts have been directed to conduct such operations, ' added Deputy Commisioner Hamidul Haque.