Anti-tobacco activists in a workshop on Saturday laid stress on raising awareness to keep the women away from smoking and urged the government take action to stop smoking in public places.
Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote organised the workshop titled ‘National budget: increase tobacco taxes and raise awareness to stop smoking in public places’ at its office in the capital.
They said most of the women were being victims of passive smoking while the number of active women smokers also increased in Bangladesh.
They also demanded amendment to the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005, where women’s issue must be incorporated.
Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance convener Ruhul Amin Rushd said 42 million people in Bangladesh are exposed to passive smoking in public places and transports.
Criticising the budget FY 2011-12, he said the government increased tobacco taxes but there were no tax on bidis.
Moreover, the proposed budget maintained that the bidi packet would hold eight to twelve sticks while now a packet contains 25 sticks. ‘This decision encourages the bidi industry,’ he said.
Tabinaj convener Farida Akhter said women had become the major target of the tobacco industry, mostly young women in the universities. Moreover, 95 per cent female tobacco users in Bangladesh use smokeless products such as zarda, gul, etc, she added.
‘In Bangladesh, we have found long thin packs of cigarettes sold for women at the district level. So the marketing strategies of the tobacco companies targeting women are not restricted to Dhaka only, but have spread to the district towns as well,’ she said.
She said the women were also victims of passive smoking, as the number of women victim accounts for 30.4 per cent in the workplace and 20.8 per cent at public places.
Work for Better Bangladesh programme and planning director Syed Mahbubul Haque presented a paper according to World Health Organisation and Global Adult Tobacco Survey.
According to the paper, he said Bangladesh was one of the highest tobacco using countries in the world as around 43.3 per cent adults used tobacco and tobacco products while around 27.2 per cent used smokeless tobacco.
About ten per cent of the world’s tobacco users were in Bangladesh and the tobacco users had increased by 7.5 per cent in five years from 2004 to 2009, he added.
According to a report, he said, more than 57,000 people died of tobacco-related diseases and some 16 per cent of all deaths among the people aged 30 and above are attributed to tobacco use.
Among others, Sayyida Akhter, parliament member Shammi Akhter and singer Iffat Ara Nargis were present at the programme.
-With New Age input
