Printing the graphical health warning on tobacco packets was made mandatory in the law, but a study finds that most tobacco companies are still violating the law through applying various tactics.
According to the study, the tobacco companies are increasingly violating the law during the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The law says to print the graphic health warning at the top of the tobacco packet, but 82 per cent of the packets were found that health warnings were printed at the bottom.
The study report titled ‘Implementation of Graphic Health Warnings on Tobacco Packets as Per Law and the Present Situation’ was revealed through a press conference on Tuesday (August 10).
Tobacco Control and Research Cell (TCRC) of Dhaka International University (DIU), Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) and Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) arranged the press conference.
TCRC’s president Barrister Shameem Haider Patwari, MP, chaired the event, while BATA’s adviser Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, Additional Secretary and coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell Hossain Ali Khandaker, research consultant of CLPA and former Vice Principal of Dhaka Dental College AFM Sarwar, BATA’s coordinator of Saifuddin Ahmed and technical adviser of The Union Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin also spoke there.
TCRC’s research assistant and program manager Farhana Zaman Liza presented the keynote paper. Program Manager at Tobacco Control Project of DU’s Economic Research Bureau Hamidul Islam Hillol moderated the event, while DIU’s associate professor and member secretary of TCRC Md Bazlur Rahman delivered the welcome address.
Farhana Zaman Liza in her keynote said that a total of 951 tobacco products were collected from 16 districts and 16 upazilas of the country. The study found that 79% of the tobacco products have illustrated health warnings, but there were loopholes.
As per the law, the rate of pictorial health warnings across 50 per cent of the packaging area is 69 per cent. The print rate of graphic health warnings on both sides of the tobacco packets was 44% and the specified term picture was not observed on 17 per cent tobacco packets. A total of 90% of the packages were covered with bandrolls, while 49% of the packages did not have a message saying ‘only for sale in Bangladesh’.
Farhana Zaman Liza placed some recommendations for the implementation of the law. She emphasized on printing the health warning on the top side of the tobacco packets following the judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
She also recommended the introduction of standard packaging, banning the sale of jorda and banning the sale of cigarette with retail sticks, increasing the number of mobile courts and destruction of tobacco products without pictorial health warnings and legal action against all concerned.
