Anti-tobacco law which parliament passed recently could ‘stumble’ if proper implementation and monitoring were not ensured, anti-tobacco activists said on Tuesday in Rajshahi.
Parliament recently passed an amendment to the anti-tobacco
law with strict provisions about tobacco promotion.The activists, however, fear it may turn into ‘another fruitless measure’ in the war against nicotine products.
The concerns were expressed at a discussion jointly organised by the Rajshahi District Task Force and the Action for Community Development at Rajshahi deputy commissioner’s office.
Ehsabul Amin Emon, project coordinator of ACD, in his main presentation said legal restrictions on tobacco promotion was necessary.
He said the scope of ‘point-of-sale’ advertisements was a major weakness in the tobacco control law, and that the tobacco industry took full advantage of it in the absence of advertisements in the mainstream media.
‘Now, we have an amended tobacco control act with which point-of-sale advertising has been prohibited. If the act can be implemented properly, the war against tobacco will get a new dimension. If not, it will fall flat on its face just like many other regulations,’ he said.
Experts argued that the ‘jinx of tobacco’ can be broken only through continuous advocacy and campaigning against it in the media, and with a strong commitment from the authorities to the law’s implementation.
Rajshahi deputy commissioner Mejbah Uddin Choudhury, civil surgeon Shahidul Islam, additional district magistrate Sanjoy Chakraborty addressed the programme among others.
-With New Age input
