Tobacco Watch
Tobacco Companies Declared Ineligible for the President's Award for Industrial Development
19 August 2021
The Ministry of Industries (MoInd) has recently issued a new policy disqualifying companies manufacturing tobacco and tobacco products for the prestigious President's Award for Industrial Development.
Vape Campaign using Health Ministry's Identity
8 February 2021
Dr. Rajib Joarder, claiming to be an official of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW), Bangladesh (posted in Surgery Dept. of Dhaka Medical College) was found publicly endorsing vaping in a video published in VoV Bangladesh, a Facebook page, run by Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA). Such enthusiastic endorsement is shocking since the Ministry has publicly declared that it is considering a possible ban on the production, import and marketing of e-cigarettes, vaping, and other emerging tobacco products (ETPs).
New cigarette factory establishment will encourage tobacco trade, achieving a tobacco free Bangladesh will be hampered
24 December 2020
Asian Tobacco Ltd. has started setting up a new cigarette manufacturing plant against the promise of honorable Prime Minister to build a tobacco free Bangladesh by 2040
WHO's Name and Logo Used in Promoting Vaping Products
8 October 2020
A pro-vaping organization named “Voice of Vapers Bangladesh” is using the name and logo of the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote vaping products.
10 MPs Lobby for Bidi Makers, Public Health at Great Danger
22 September 2020
10 Members of Parliament (MPs) have sent a letter addressed to the Finance Minister, calling for a tax-cut on the bidi. Such an act by the MPs is strange to say the least
Telenor Health Decided to Refund FSFW Grants!
5 September 2020
Telenor Health, a digital healthcare service owned by Norway-based Telenor business group, has recently decided to refund the $ 74,400 worth grant received from Foundation for Smoke-Free World (FSFW)
FSFW Again Funding in Bangladesh
22 May 2020
The Bangladesh Office of Telenor Health ASA has recently accepted 74,400 US Dollars as grants from Foundation for Smoke-Free World (FSFW), a pseudo anti-tobacco organization funded by multinational tobacco giant Philip MorrisInternational (PMI). The grantee list of FSFW
BCMA Strong Lobby in Finance Ministry: Finalization of National Tobacco Control Policy Under Threat
18 September 2019
The cigarette manufacturers’ organization Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has already started a strong lobbying campaign in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to hinder the finalization process of National Tobacco Control Policy (NTCP)
JTI Foundation funding in Bangladesh!- Disguising Tobacco Trade under Development
7 August 2019
Hiding behind its psedu-mission of social service and sustainable development, the JTI Foundation will spend 890,880 Swiss Francs by 2020 to expand the tobacco trade of its mother company in Bangladesh.
BRAC returns FSFW's Fund!
1 August 2019
BRAC, the world-leading NGO of Bangladesh, has very recently returned the fund worth USD 64,115 that they have received from Foundation for Smoke-Free World (FSFW)