DHAKA, Mar 10, (V7N) – A delegation from PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) met Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin at the Bangladesh Secretariat today to discuss amendments to tobacco control laws.

During the meeting, the delegation highlighted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) initiative to eliminate designated smoking areas (DSAs), aiming for a 100% smoke-free environment to protect non-smokers from passive smoking. They emphasized that DSAs in hotels and restaurants expose workers and visitors, including women and children, to secondhand smoke.

PROGGA-ATMA also noted that Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use prevalence in South Asia (35.3%), surpassing India (28.6%) and Pakistan (19.1%). Tobacco-related illnesses cause nearly 161,000 deaths annually, posing a significant barrier to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-3, which focuses on health and well-being.

The delegation included Mortuza Haider Liton, Nadira Kiron, Md. Shafiqul Islam, ABM Zubair, and Md. Hasan Shahriar, who urged stronger regulatory measures to curb tobacco-related health risks.

END/BUS/RH