Govt to withdraw shares from BATB

The government is contemplating to withdraw its share from British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) with a view to controlling the tobacco use in the country.
Ministry sources said, the government may withdraw its share from BATB for considering the public health. Currently, the government is holding some 9.49 percent shares of BATB and the authorities concerned is planning to withdraw the share of the government from the multinational tobacco company.
Talking to Daily Industry, Md Asadul Islam, Secretary for Health Service, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ministry told that such proposal was kept in the Industries Ministry. “I will soon talk with the said ministry to withdraw the government share from BATB but the matter is related with the industries ministry”
Already, the government has signed various deals with multifarious global organisations to control the tobacco related products. In this connection, the government has formulated the ‘National Tobacco Control Act’ to discourage the using of tobacco from the country, he said.
Commenting on the earning from the BATB, the secretary said, the government received only Tk 28 crore cash dividend from BATB in 2018.
Expressing the government firm stand to control tobacco use, Islam said, Bangladesh is one of the first countries both to sign and to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The ruling government is determined to control the use of tobacco; he said adding Bangladesh aims to be tobacco-free by 2040.
On the other hand, experts have underscored the need for withdrawing the government share from the BATB to consider the public health. Apart from the public health, the cultivation of tobacco is severely affecting on the environment, they said.
Dr Manhfuz Kabir, Research Director, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) said that the government share with BATB is a contradictory thing for attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).” If the government withdraws its share from BATB, it will be an example for other countries to control tobacco use”, he said.
Dr Syed Mahfuzul Haque, National Professional Officer of WHO said, the higher government officials are the board members of the BATB, so, it would be easy matter to withdraw the government share from the multinational companies.
In many countries like Norway and Sweden has already withdrawn their investment from the tobacco sector for considering their public health, he mentioned.
Ministry sources said, currently, Bangladesh is one of the largest tobacco-consuming countries in the world, where an estimated 46 million adults were users of a variety of smoked or smokeless tobacco products. It was estimated that in 2010, about 25 percent of all deaths among men aged 25 to 69 years were attributable to smoking resulting in an average loss of 7 years of life per smoker.
According to physicians, tobacco is a leading risk factor for several non communicable diseases which is also a global public health concern. Every year, tobacco use kills more than 7 million people worldwide.
In Bangladesh, the burden from tobacco is alarming. Some 35 percent of adults are currently using tobacco products. Furthermore, 43 percent and 39 percent of adults are exposed to secondhand smoke at their workplaces and in their homes, respectively. Moreover, 7 percent of youth aged between 13 to 15 years are using tobacco products in the country.
Through implementation of the legislation and comprehensive efforts for tobacco control, there has been an 18.5 percent relative reduction in tobacco use in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2017. The absolute number of tobacco users among adults has also decreased from 41.3 million to 37.8 million.

 

Source: Daily industry, 27 February 2020