- Marjana Muntaha
On 13 July, during a meeting of the Advisory Committee on amending Bangladesh’s Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act 2013, it was decided to invite representatives of the tobacco industry to participate in discussions on the proposed amendment. The profit motives of tobacco companies and the public’s right to health can never align.
In 2003, Bangladesh made a groundbreaking move. It became the first country in the world to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It was a moment of pride, a declaration to the global community that our nation would lead in protecting people, especially future generations from the devastating grip of tobacco. But that historic promise seems to be fading by choosing to invite tobacco industry’s representatives into the process of shaping our tobacco control laws, we risk rewriting that proud chapter of leadership into one of compromise. According to Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) a global treaty that Bangladesh ratified in 2008, governments must protect public health policies from tobacco industry interference. Yet, this decision to invite tobacco industry’s representative to the table of shaping law, risks it all.
As young people, we are the prime targets of tobacco marketing. Every cigarette sold, every e-cigarette introduced, every “new and trendy” nicotine product on shelves is designed to hook us and keep us dependent for life. We are the generation that the tobacco industry is targeting to secure its future profits. Allowing tobacco companies into health policy talks is like letting a player write their own rulebook. Their goal is to simply delay, dilute, and derail regulations. Youth advocates, students, and parents must rise louder than their lobbying. The government must stand with its people, not with the profits of the tobacco industry. It must protect our right to grow up free from tobacco, shield us from the harms of secondhand smoke, and ensure that preventable diseases no longer cut lives short. Public health should never be negotiable, and the government’s duty is to put people’s well-being above all.
Tobacco is not just a health concern, it is a matter of people’s rights and justice. Decisions made today will define whether our generation inherits a smoke-free future or a legacy of suffering. The laws protecting our health should be written by those who value our lives, not those who profit from death.
[Writer: Marjana Muntaha, Coordinator,
Ahsania Mission Youth Forum for Health and Well-being]