DHAKA, Feb 5, 2025 (BSS) – Two anti-tobacco campaign platforms today accused tobacco industry of using tricks to influence government policies in favour of their business hiding the facts of their deadly impact on public health.

“Some 1,61,000 people die every year consuming tobacco in Bangladesh,” research and advocacy group Progga and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) said in a joint statement, wrapping up a two-day workshop of theirs titled “Tobacco Companies Dirty Tricks: What Media Can Do”.

It said the tobacco companies recently sent letters to the finance and law ministries to obstruct a proposed amendment to the existing tobacco law, highlighting some “baseless information” and pointing out that it would cause government’s revenue losses.

But, the statement said, the proposed amendment to the tobacco control law had hardly any relation with potential job losses as a 2021 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey report said the number of retail shops in Bangladesh stands at 15, 39,000.

It said the shops which sell tobacco along with food, drinks and other consumer items are only 196,341 in number while the statistics suggests the tobacco industry has intentionally magnified this number to intimidate and mislead policymakers.

The NBR statistics, on the other hand, said following the passage of the first tobacco control law in 2005, revenue earned from the sector was increased by 17.97 percent and 37.52 percent in 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscals.

Another amendment to the law in 2013 yielded a remarkable revenue increase from the sectors which were 25.51 percent and 46.52 percent in 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscals.

The statement said the media could play a vital role in exposing the true intentions of tobacco companies as they never take responsibility for such a huge loss of lives caused by their deadly products.

It said one of the studies showed that 35.3 percent people aged 15 years and above consume tobacco.

American Cancer Society in a 2019 study found that in 2017-18, the loss incurred due to the tobacco use was Taka 30,560 crore in terms of medical expenses and productivity loss against the generated revenue of Taka 22,810 crore from tobacco sector.

According to the statement 51 TV, newspaper and online media journalists joined the workshop held at the BMA Bhaban in the capital.

Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation’s former chairman M Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Editor of Dhaka Tribune Reaz Ahmed, Deputy Editor of Business Standard Sazzadur Rahman, Economic Reporters Forum President Doulot Akter Mala, ATMA Convener Liton Haider, Co-Conveners Nadia Kiron and Mizan Chowdhury, PROGGA’s Executive Director ABM Zubair, and and its programme head M Hasan Shahriar took part as panelists, among others.