Public Health on Top

While the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh has made her vision of tobacco free Bangladesh clear, some government organizations are walking towards opposite direction. Very recently, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has awarded British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) with the recognition of top taxpayer. The State Minister of Public Administration physically handed over NBR's "token of appreciation" while the Finance Minister was connected virtually. The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) of Bangladesh Government has also recently handed over award to BATB in an event attended by the Commerce Minister. Tobacco companies receiving awards from Ministers and high officials in events organized by govt. agencies is nothing but a promotion of tobacco business aka death trade.
In an attempt to influence government policy on tobacco, the Japanese envoy to Bangladesh recently wrote a letter addressed to the Finance Minister of Bangladesh. The letter was later forwarded to NBR from the Office of the Finance Minister. NBR later assigned their VAT Department to take necessary actions based on the letter. It should be noted that in the letter, it was alleged that NBR's tax policy and its move to prevent Japan Tobacco International (JTI) from introducing flavored capsule in low-tier cigarettes have hurt the business of JTI.

Against such backdrop, it is impossible to build a tobacco-free Bangladesh as declared by the Prime Minister while keeping these government institutions unprotected from the interferences of tobacco companies. Implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 is a must in this regard.