Public Health on Top

Tobacco companies’ interference in the policy formulation and implementation in Bangladesh is alarming. The recently-published study titled Tobacco Industry Interference Index: Report on Implementation of FCTC Article 5.3, Bangladesh 2018 places Bangladesh at the 9th position among 10 Asian countries (second highest level of interference). The study assesses how the government has responded to interference from the tobacco industry and what action the government has taken to safeguard public health related policies amid instances of interference in the last two years (2016 and 2017). Instances of interference have been found by the study in relevant areas such as tobacco tax measures, tobacco leaf pricing, graphic health warning, and other issues. Tobacco companies have been granted special benefits after the company representatives and lobbyists managed to influence the policymakers. Moreover, high level govt. officials’ holding positions in tobacco companies, participating in tobacco companies’ CSR activities, unnecessary interaction with tobacco company executives have been observed. No measure was in place to ensure transparency in the events of meetings or any sort of communication between govt. officials and tobacco company representatives. At least four government ministries (Finance, Labor and Manpower, Law, and Agriculture) and the National Board of Revenue (NBR), as found in the study, are in the most vulnerable position to the increasing industry interference. But if the current situation of tobacco industry interference persists, the govt.’s goal of transforming the country into a tobacco-free one by 2040 will be frustrated. The study recommends the formulation of a code-of-conduct/policy in line with FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines for all govt. officials to follow while attending meetings or communicating with the tobacco industry. All sorts of unnecessary communication with tobacco companies must be stopped. To safeguard public health related policies, the govt. must take initiatives to disclose all interactions with the tobacco industry and its representatives, withdraw all sorts of advantages provided to tobacco industry including export duty and VAT exemptions and terminate the positions its officials hold in tobacco companies to avoid conflict-of-interest.

Article 5.3 is often deemed as the ‘backbone of FCTC’. We believe, the government will take measures as soon as possible to formulate and implement policy in line with FCTC Article 5.3 to safeguard public health related policies from the vested interests of tobacco companies and to build a tobacco-free country.