Speakers at a discussion said that it is important to use health development surcharges derived from tobacco products to reduce premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases and to control tobacco with emphasis on disease prevention in public health development. For this reason, it is necessary to quickly finalize a five-year long national tobacco control programme using surcharge money for sustainable tobacco control, they added.
The discussion on ‘Tobacco-free Bangladesh: Role and Responsibilities of Health Development Surcharge Management Committee’ was held at a hotel in the city on Thursday (October 26, 2023). MANAS (Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse) arranged the event.
President of MANAS Professor Dr. Arup Ratan Chowdhury presided over the event.
Coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) Hossain Ali Khandaker attended the event as the chief guest, while Head of Programs of Vital Strategies Md. Shafiqul Islam, Consultant Md. Fahimul Islam, Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture Shafiqul Islam, and Deputy Secretary of Ministry of Industry Khodeja Khatun spoke in the discussion, among others.
Technical Consultant of Vital Strategies Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin presented the main article in the discussion, while Project Officer of MANAS Abu Raihan moderated the event.
Some recommendations were made in the event. These include- Regularization of meetings of Health Development Surcharge Management Committee, Finalization and nationwide implementation of the National Tobacco Control Program, Finalization of the roadmap to build a tobacco-free Bangladesh announced by the Prime Minister, Taking actions by involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the local level and providing financial support, Increase funding for research activities.
