Public Health on Top

With identical t-shirts and vans of orange complexion, JTI sales persons are making their presence known vigorously throughout the country. They also have a vibrant presence on the social media. The company has been arranging game-shows, movie carnivals and other programs in different neighbors all over the country to draw the attention of potential young customers to their products. Exploiting the name of Rabindranath Tagore, the company, at the beginning of this year, also conducted a media campaign of unprecedented level promoting its slogan ‘Japanese quality’. JTI was also found using the country’s largest job search portal bdjobs to promote its brand and logo though bdjobs authority had to remove this flagrant advertisement due to relentless protest and intervention from Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA).

Bangladesh, a country where 49 percent of its population is youth, undoubtedly appears as a tantalizing market for expanding tobacco business. JTI CEO has also revealed that the cigarette industry of Bangladesh is increasing by 2 percent each year which prompted the company to make its $ 1.47 billion investment in the country. JTI Regional Chief in an interview has also echoed the same intention. So, JTI’s entrance into Bangladesh is a well-calculated one. Recently it was brought to light that, to facilitate its entrance into Bangladesh’s cigarette market and to influence policymakers and administration for this purpose, JTI Foundation has started its so-called development activities in Bangladesh in 2015, three years prior to JTi’s investment.

However, since its successful but ominous penetration in the country, the gigantic extent to which JTI continues its promotional campaign poses a threat to the existence and implementation of Bangladesh’s tobacco control law. JTI’s aggressive campaign that violates the tobacco control law needs to be stopped. Apart from strict implementation of the law, policies in line with FCTC Article 5.3 also need to be formulated to save the statecraft from interference of tobacco industry. Laws with regards to foreign investment need to be amended to prevent further penetration of foreign tobacco companies into the country. It should be kept in mind that it is public health which must come ahead of everything in priority, not tobacco or tobacco companies dollars of death.