The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Health and Family Welfare Ministry has opined that use, production, import and marketing of e-cigarette must be banned in Bangladesh.
In a statement, the DGHS said that all the activities supporting the expansion of e-cigarette also need to be stopped in order to save public health and the next generation from adverse impact.
Signed by Prof Dr. Mohammad Robed Amin, Line Director at the Non-Communicable Disease Control (NCDC) of DGHS; the statement was issued on Thursday (December 15).
The DGHS in the statement expressed deep concern over the recent circulated news about foreign investment in setting up e-cigarette factories in Bangladesh. The statement calls for encouraging foreign investment in the production of goods that are beneficial to public health rather than those that are harmful to public health.
The health ministry has prepared a draft to bring another amendment to the ‘Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2013’ where the ministry proposes to prohibit the production, import, export, storage, sale and transportation of e-cigarettes or their parts.
It was said in the statement that the DGHS is extending all-out support to the proposed amendment to the tobacco control law by the ministry.
The statement says that although as per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) Bangladesh 2017 the number of e-cigarette users in the country is still relatively low, the number of users is apprehended to increase manifold among adolescents and youths in Bangladesh due to promotional activities in social media and e-commerce sites. The tobacco companies’ tactics in expanding e-cigarette in Bangladesh and impressive strategies in marketing to attract adolescents and youths further increase the apprehension.
The DGHS in the statement further said that e-cigarette contains toxic chemicals which increase the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The toxic chemicals used in e-cigarette also bring adverse effects on the development of the fetus during pregnancy. Against this backdrop, at least 32 countries, including neighbouring India and Thailand, have already banned the e-cigarette. It should be banned in Bangladesh as soon as possible, the statement added.
Anti-tobacco activists, researchers and experts on tobacco control welcomed the statement of DGHS, saying that it will play a vital role against e-cigarette.
“We support the DGHS’s demand for the ban on use, production, import and marketing of e-cigarette. It is harmful for public health. It must be banned in Bangladesh. Action should also be taken against illegal activities of tobacco companies in expanding e-cigarette in Bangladesh,” said Syed Saiful Alam Shovan, an anti-tobacco activist and a researcher on tobacco control.
Welcoming DGHS’s statement, Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) said that this statement will promote public health to protect the young generation by banning harmful products like e-cigarettes.
In a press statement on behalf of the BATA, Helal Ahmed, acting coordinator of the platform; said that the DGHS issued the statement recognizing the need to ban the importation and use of e-cigarette as well as banning all activities supporting its expansion in order to control the market of e-cigarette due to the threat of public health catastrophe in the near future. “We sincerely thank and applaud the DGHS for providing such a statement for the development of public health,” he said in the statement.
