Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amended) Act 2013 has been passed in April last year, but the Rules for the law has not been finalized yet due to tobacco industry interferences, reveals an ATMA member Ubaidullah Badal published on The Daily Bartoman on 13 April, 2014. The report reads that the amended TC law of 2013 has made mandatory to implement a pictorial warning on tobacco products’ packets covering the top 50% space. The product is allowed to be sold when the pictorial warning is clearly seen by the consumers. Rules for the amended law has been drafted by the Health and Social Welfare Ministry and been sent for vetting to the Law Ministry a longtime ago. The tobacco industry, by influencing some officials of the respective ministries, is trying to delay the process of Rules formulation as if it is implemented (pictorial warning on tobacco packets), it will bring a huge loss for them and they may also lose a large number of smokers as well. If the Rules are not finalized quickly, the amended act 2013 will become helpless to protect the public health properly.
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http://dailybartoman.com/index.php?page=daily_details&page_id=26&news_id=36501
On the other hand, advertisement of tobacco products is running in Sylhet district ignoring existing TC law where as no steps visible to stop such illegal activities from local administration, reveals by one of the ATMA members Shah Shuhel Ahmed published on the local Daily Amar Sylhet on 13 April, 2014.
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http://dailyamarsylhet24.com/welcome/details/22008#
Besides, Aggressive Expansion of tobacco cultivation is devouring 98%of arable lands of Lama-Alikodom upazila under Bandarban district, says another report published by The Daily Jugantor on 12 April, 2014. Three thousand (3000) furnaces have been used to bake tobacco leaves in these two upazillas only where more than six thousand (6000) furnaces have been constructed in the Bandarban districts. Tobacco industries are alluring the local farmers with different incentives like financial, technical and other agri-inputs for producing tobacco on their lands. Almost all the lands are under tobacco plantation in the district and less than two percent (2%) lands are being used for vegetables and spice production. The expansion of tobacco cultivation is alarming indeed while the government is not being able to do much to restrict as there is no such policy made by the government to control tobacco cultivation.
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