Desk Report:
Chief Whip of the Bangladesh National Parliament Md. Nurul Islam said, the current government is very sincere in tobacco control. We will try to completely eliminate tobacco use. If we cannot eliminate it, at least we will not let its use increase. We have no other resources except human resources. To protect human resources, tobacco control is essential.
He also said, everyone knows that smoking tobacco is harmful. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. If one person smokes tobacco here, 10 people nearby are infected. We all know that there is no alternative to tobacco control, effective steps are needed now. I welcome this great initiative of yours.
The Chief Whip made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a policy dialogue titled “The Need to Strengthen the Smoking and Tobacco Use Act” to Protect Women’s Health organized by the Tobacco Women’s Alliance (TABINAJ) in collaboration with the Development Alternatives Policy Research (DAPRI) at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital on Saturday (April 4, 2026).
Chief Whip Md. Nurul Islam said, “Although we want to control tobacco in Bangladesh, there are many issues involved in it, they do not want to control tobacco. They advertise – ‘Plant trees, save the environment’, but below it is written British American Tobacco. My statement about tobacco farmers is clear – why would you cultivate tobacco? Instead of tobacco, cultivate something else.”
Md. Nurul Islam said, “Technology like Voyager 1 and 2 was developed in the 70s, but people still die of heart attacks, but why is no medical technology developed?” There is a trillion dollar business here. Why can’t we clean the small wounds that form in the heart’s arteries? Humans are now the ones who kill people to stay on earth.
The Chief Whip said that sometimes the results of negative propaganda are positive. For example, when we did the ‘anti-heroin’ campaign before heroin or Yaba came to Bangladesh, many people used to think as teenagers – what does it really mean to take heroin? You can see it after taking it once. In this way, heroin has actually been advertised in a way. The same can be true in the case of tobacco.
He said that the anti-tobacco law was made in 2005, and tobacco advertisements were banned on television during the BNP government. You can write a letter to the Honorable Prime Minister mentioning these three issues: the harm of cigarettes, the need for the law and your cooperation. The Honorable Prime Minister is a very sensitive person. He is the Prime Minister of all the people of the country.
Highlighting the development of the current government, he said, in less than two months, the government has waived loans of up to 10,000 taka to farmers and made arrangements to issue farmer cards. We have worked for women’s empowerment and have made arrangements for allowances for imams and muezzins. Even though oil prices have increased in the world, oil prices have not been increased in Bangladesh in the same way. The Prime Minister is trying his best to ensure that fuel prices are not increased. You know that oil prices have doubled in neighboring countries like Pakistan, schools have been closed in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The Prime Minister has stopped taking his own fleet to reduce unnecessary expenses. He has instructed the Parliament not to lower the AC temperature below 25. He does not use much light or AC in his room just to save electricity. We should thank the Prime Minister for these good deeds.
In addition, to protect the environment, the government has taken up a plan to dig 20,000 kilometers of canals and plant 250 million trees. Valuable trees like sandalwood can be planted on both banks of the canals, which will provide economic wealth in the future.
At the beginning of the program, a brief presentation was made on the steps taken by the BNP government in tobacco control in Bangladesh, along with a video depicting the horrific picture and harm of tobacco use. The program strongly demanded the conversion of the Tobacco Control Ordinance-2025 into law.
Dr. Sohel Reza Chowdhury spoke at the program. Leaders of Tabinaz and Ubinig organizations and media personnel were present at the program.
