Public Health on Top

To remove the proposed tax rate on bidi from the final budget, the bidi companies have run much propaganda. They have presented many lame and hilarious excuses in the name of to protecting the interest of the bidi workers. Unfortunately, some of the Ministers and MPs have also nodded on such issues. On the other side, tobacco companies have lobbied with the higher authority of the government to reduce the cheap cigarette price. The tobacco companies had continued their activities across the month to reduce the proposed tax on the proposed budget.
On June 20, in Lalmonirhat, British American Tobacco Bangladesh had organized an Iftar Party which was attended by the Deputy Commissioner, high officials from the Agri office, and other government officials. BATB organized the event to influence the local administrations.
Then again, though three months have passed on June 19, 2016 about the implementation of the new graphical health warning (GHW), but the changed warning is yet to be found. Besides, the anti-tobacco activists had some aspirations that the Health Ministry will withdraw the interim directives and compel the tobacco companies to print the GHW on the upper 50 percent space. But following the mass media reports, the Health Secretary is the key impediment in this case. He is an intimate friend of the tobacco companies for long. He, earlier, was appointed as a non executive director from the government.
Tobacco companies are deploying the people’s representatives and government employees in such tricky manners to impede the tobacco control process. The immediate implementation of the Article 5.3 of FCTC is a must to prevent the ill tactics of the tobacco companies.