Sarker Shariful Islam, Rajshahi
Rajshahi district administration has served notices to multinational tobacco companies to refrain from illegal advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products.
According to sources, in defiance of Tobacco Control Law (Smoking and Tobacco related materials control Law), the tobacco company agents and owners were exhibiting advertisements of cigarettes at the sales centres of all multinational tobacco companies of the city. District administration has served notices to those tobacco companies and their agents to remove those advertisements with immediate effect.
The notice signed by Additional Distict Magistrate Nazrul Islam said, considering the harmful effect of smoking and taking of cigarette and tobacco related materials, the government has enacted, Smoking and Using of Tobacco Control Act-2005 (revised 2013) and for ensuring sustainable development, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared to eliminate use of tobacco completely from 2040.
The notice served to the owners and dealers of British American Tobacco Company, Japan Tobacco International and Abul Khayer Tobacco Company mentioned, Rajshahi is one of the best cities as an education city, clean city and healthy city. Considering this importance of the city, Rajshahi district administration was conducting frequent mobile courts to remove illegal advertisements from tobacco sales centres.
Despite such measures, all the city sales centres of tobacco are seen to exhibit tobacco advertisements which is against the rule of Tobacco Control. As a result, the notice from Deputy Commissioner has directed to remove advertisements of tobacco and not to use further advertisements for tobacco anywhere in the district.
It is learnt, the development Agency Association for Community Development in consultation with NGO Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) was conducting a baseline survey in 39-wards of the city. In the survey it was revealed that in 2,736 tobacco shops of the city, mulinational tobacco companies were exhibiting the advertisements of tobacco and tobacco related materials almost in all of those shops.
