Public Health on Top

While tobacco is often considered as an impediment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a non-government organization has recently awarded British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) for its contribution under the ‘SDG Inclusion Category’. BATB received the award through a grandiose event in the presence of a number of prominent figures including the Principal Coordinator of SDG Affairs of the government. BATB, so far, has been continuing its death trade in disguise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. However, from now on, the company will hide the true agenda of the expansion of tobacco trade under the mask of its so-called initiatives to achieve SDGs. This is a trickery of BATB to be accepted as a development partner by the govt. According a World Health Organization (WHO) report, the number of deaths associated with tobacco use will surpass 8 million by the year 2030. Bangladesh and other third world countries will bear 80 percent of this massive death toll. Currently, 3.78 cr. adults (15 y/o and above) of Bangladesh are using tobacco, as per the 2017 GATS data. More than 161,000 people are dying each year due to tobacco related illness (The Tobacco Atlas, 2018). Therefore, tobacco undoubtedly is a massive impediment in achieving SDG-3: Good Health and Well-Being. A WHO estimate informs that 5% of the total income of a tobacco-user family is spent for tobacco consumption and 10 percent of its monthly expense goes to the treatment of tobacco related diseases. This is how tobacco use makes the poor even poorer and hinders achieving SDG-1: No Poverty. Moreover, the expansion of tobacco cultivation throughout the country is gradually putting the achievement of food security and sustainable agriculture (SDG-2) in jeopardy. Quality education (Goal 4) and Gender Equality (Goal 5) are the preconditions of sustainable development. But women and children constitute the majority of the workforce in bidi and smokeless tobacco factories. These children are deprived of basic education and the women workers are deprived of minimum livable wages and subject to inhumane work environment. Besides, women get exposed to passive smoking at home, public transportation and workplaces. In Bangladesh, about 30 percent of the total deforestation occurs for curing tobacco leaves which is increasing the climate change risks (SDG-13). So, if the overall estimation of the damages caused by tobacco production, marketing and consumption suggests that tobacco industry, in reality, is hindering the efforts we put to reach each and one of the sustainable development goals. It is worth mentioning that in January 2016, at the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Prime Minister announced a long-term goal for a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040, identifying tobacco as an impediment to achieving SDGs.
The govt. is committed to achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. Tobacco industry is a massive threat in this regard. They will do their best to trick the govt. into building partnership and to disrupt the tobacco control activities of the country. The adoption and implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 compliant policies will be the weapon to battle the interference and aggression of tobacco companies.