The leaders of the Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association (BSOA) have demanded the speedy passage of the amended Tobacco Control Act which has recently been prepared by the Ministry of Health.
Speakers made this demand at a joint discussion meeting of Bangladesh Supermarket Owners’ Association with Dhaka Ahsania Mission on Sunday at Mohakhali, Dhaka.
Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association's Chief Advisor and Founder President Niaz Rahim presided over the meeting, among others, the general secretary of the organization Zakir Hossain, Lead Policy Advisor of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Bangladesh and retired Chairman of BCIC (Grade-1) Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Grants Manager Abdus Salam Mia, Deputy Director of Health Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission Md. Mukhleshur Rahman, Tobacco Control Project Coordinator Md Shariful Islam, Media Manager Rezaur Rahman Rizvi, Program Officer Sharmin Akhter Rini and Audut Rahman Imon attended the meeting.
Niaz Rahim, chief advisor and founder president of Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association, said in the exchange meeting that Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association agrees with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's vision to make the country tobacco-free by 2040.
We applaud the Ministry of Health for recently drafting a further amendment to strengthen the Tobacco Control Act. We have full support for the revised draft of the TC Law. We hope the amended law will be passed soon and the Prime Minister's vision will be successful.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association Zakir Hossain said that everyone knows that any drug starts with smoking. So, we also want to make Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's announcement to create a tobacco-free Bangladesh a success. There are currently more than two hundred supermarkets in the country.
We will make every effort to encourage our members to stop displaying tobacco products in their respective supermarkets.
Lead Policy Advisor of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Bangladesh and retired Chairman of BCIC (Grade-1) Md. Mostafizur Rahman said that the current "Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act 2005" completely prohibits the advertising and promotion of tobacco products.
However, the existing law does not specifically prohibit the display of tobacco products at the point of sale. In this opportunity, tobacco companies are mainly advertising and promoting tobacco products through the exhibition of their products in the sales center.
