Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) has welcomed the government for cancelling the registration of Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers Association (BCMA), an organisation of cigarette manufacturing companies.
In a press statement issued on Sunday (September 11), BATA’s coordinator Saifuddin Ahmed said that BATA welcomes the initiative which will accelerate the goal of building tobacco-free Bangladesh as per the declaration of prime minister. The commerce ministry on August 28 cancelled the BCMA’s registration for 12 reasons, including failure to comply with license regulations, audit reports and not updating documents. Congratulating the ministry for taking such initiative, Saifuddin Ahmed in the BATA’s statement said that tobacco companies are producing harmful products by violating law and cheating in various ways, including tax evasion, advertising, campaign in the name of CSR activities. Although the government continues tobacco control activities, the tobacco companies and their beneficiaries have been creating obstacles in various ways in formulation of policy for tobacco control. Other frauds of companies producing such harmful products need to be investigated, says the statement.
BATA called for not giving registration to the organizations of the companies producing health harmful products including cigarettes.