Desk Report:
Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan has said that he will propose legislation to ban smoking and tobacco use in public.
The minister said this at a roundtable meeting organized by the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance at the Shilpakala Academy’s theater on Monday (March 9, 2026).
The Information Minister said that during the previous BNP government, Bangladesh was one of the first countries in the world to sign the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003. He said that in continuation of this decision, the Smoking and Tobacco Use Control Act was enacted in 2005, which is a historic milestone in the country’s public health protection.
The Information Minister said that the government’s election manifesto has mentioned the issue of taking legal initiatives to control non-communicable diseases caused by tobacco use. He expressed hope that the ‘Smoking and Tobacco Products (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025’ issued by the interim government will be turned into a law.
Zahir Uddin Swapan requested all concerned to prepare for the enactment of the law as well as its implementation. He said that once the law is enacted, a special publicity program will be taken by the Information Ministry to create public awareness on this issue.
Cancer expert Dr. Golam Mohiuddin Faruk and Jugantar editor Abdul Hai Sikder, among others, spoke at the roundtable meeting.
