Govt's failure to finalise rules hinders execution of anti-tobacco law

The government has failed to finalise the Rules even after amending the tobacco control law more than a year back in April, 2013 thus hindering the implementation of the anti-tobacco law, officials said Thursday.

Health ministry officials said they had drafted the Smoking and Use of Tobacco Product (Control) Rules in November last and sent it to the law ministry immediately requesting for legal vetting.

"But the law ministry had sent back the rules to the health ministry in May this year suggesting some changes. Accordingly, we have brought changes and again sent it to the law ministry in the middle of last month. But the law ministry is yet to give its vetting," said a senior health ministry official.

He said they could not implement the Smoking and Use of Tobacco Product (Control) (amendment) Act 2013 properly due to absence of the Rules which will mainly describe the use of the pictorial warning on the packet of the tobacco products, designated public area, role and duty of the caretakers of the public places etc.

The amended tobacco control law has said that the government agencies concerned (Health Ministry) would frame the Rules immediately to support the law for its proper implementation, the official added.

A top government official said the law ministry has asked the health ministry to allow the tobacco industry to incorporate the pictorial warning on their products within 18 months from the date of finalisation of the proposed Rules.

Meanwhile, the health ministry in the draft Rules allows the tobacco companies nine months to incorporate the pictorial warning on the 50 per cent area of the packet of the tobacco products.

"The law ministry should review the legal issues of the Rules. But they have asked us to change the timeframe of the pictorial warning incorporation on the packet of the tobacco products which is not its job," said the official.

The draft Rules have been framed through a wide consultation with the experts, he told the FE.

Another health ministry official said the legislative and parliamentary affairs secretary sat in a consultation meeting with the tobacco industry companies at his office on March 12 which allegedly motivated the ministry to bring changes in some provision of the Rules in favour of the companies.

According to the tobacco control law, 50 per cent area of the packet of the tobacco product must incorporate the pictorial warning to discourage the tobacco product users from taking the health-hazardous goods.

Since Bangladesh has signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, the country is bound to check the use of the tobacco products in a bid to minimise the health hazard.

Dr Syed Mahfuzul Huq of the WHO in Bangladesh said due to absence of the Rules, the tobacco control law is not being implemented properly.

The government should finalise the Rules as soon as possible to ensure proper implementation of the law and check bad impact on the human health as well as on the national economy, he told the FE.

According to the World Health Organisation, some 1.2 million people are being affected with eight types of diseases for taking tobacco products in Bangladesh.

Every year, Bangladesh economy is facing loss to the tune of nearly Tk 250 billion due to the bad impact of the tobacco products on the human health.

Every year 57,000 people die in Bangladesh for the direct impact of the tobacco products' use.

source:Financial express