The leaders of Bangladesh Parliamentary Forum for Health and Wellbeing on Saturday called upon everyone to be united to stop the use of deadly tobacco products.
They made this call at a press conference titled 'Tobacco Control Law Amendment for Achieving Tobacco Free Bangladesh by 2040' held National Press Club.
They said that 67 percent of the country's yearly deaths occur due to non-communicable diseases, where one of the major causes is use of tobacco and tobacco products.
Students of all educational institutions of the country need to be involved to create more awareness to stop the use of tobacco, said the speakers.
The speakers said that the parliamentarians should come forward to stop the misuse of tobacco for the betterment of the public health and welfare.
Chairman of Bangladesh Parliamentary Forum for Health and Wellbeing Prof Dr M Habibe Millat, MP said, "Bangladesh consumes the most tobacco products in the world. The price of tobacco products is lowest here".
"According to the Tobacco Control Act, smoking in public places is punishable up to Tk 300 only. It is important to stop smoking in our public places," he said.
"We have sent a letter to the Prime Minister signed by 153 MPs to solve the gaps in the Tobacco Control Act," he added.
They have also sent another letter to the Finance Minister to impose more taxes on tobacco products, he added.
Earlier, Executive Director of Health Protection Foundation and public health expert Dr Nizam Uddin Ahmed presented the keynote speech.
It is mentioned in the article, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced to make Bangladesh tobacco free by 2040 after realizing the dangers of tobacco.
Lead Policy Advisor of Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids Bangladesh Mostafizur Rahman, Director of Health Protection Foundation Dr Rafiqul Islam and founder chairman of Ratnagarbha Farida Zaman School Farida Zaman also spoke, among others.
