Public Health on Top

Tobacco companies now want to give their official opinions on what should be in the National Tobacco Control Policy (NTCP) and what should not. In this current arm-twisting campaign, tobacco companies are using the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as their medium. The govt. agency has very recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Health in this regard and in an interview given to BBC Bangla, the Chairman of NBR said, since tobacco companies are major stakeholders in this process, a tobacco control policy that does not reflect companies’ opinions is bound to fail. However, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the international treaty on tobacco control, advises the governments to keep themselves free from tobacco companies’ influence while formulating tobacco control related policies. In compliance with the FCTC, the Ministry of Health sent letters to all relevant parties seeking their opinions on the draft NTCP, with an exception of tobacco companies. The NBR, as a response to the Health Ministry’s move, advised the latter to consider the opinions of tobacco companies regarding this issue.
The same kind of interferences of tobacco companies were abundant in the implementation of Graphic Health Warning (GHW). NBR, on 20 February 2018, arranged a meeting on the implementation of GHW where representatives from Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers’ Association (BCMA), The Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Limited and some other organizations were present. Despite being the first and foremost stakeholder, the Health Ministry was not invited in the meeting.
Within three months into the ongoing 2019-20 national budget, NBR issued an SRO reducing the supplementary duty on bidi from 35 percent to 30 percent. In the last FY, NBR granted a staggering BDT 2000 crore tax exemption to a multinational tobacco company.
The connection between NBR and tobacco companies is now not limited to tobacco taxation only. Tobacco companies are involving NBR into every aspect of tobacco control. With their well-crafted strategies, the companies are inducing a government body to violate FCTC and hinder the journey toward a tobacco-free Bangladesh. Our firm belief stands that the government initiates the formulation of FCTC Article 5.3 compliant policies and implementation as early as possible to safeguard public health from the vested interest of tobacco companies and ultimately to facilitate the journey of the country toward a tobacco- free future.