Public Health on Top

US-based news portal the Daily Beast has revealed yet another manipulation scheme of British American Tobacco (BAT). A recent investigation unearthed how BAT secretly sponsored and shaped the flamboyantly 'anti-smoking' and 'pro-vaping' campaigns of the World Vapers' Association (WVA). BAT, which has been increasing its footprints in the vaping industry since 2013, is using WVA and other groups to create the image of a fake pro-vaping grassroot movement and pressurize lawmakers into curbing regulations. BAT, along with other tobacco companies, has used another platform known as Consumer Choice Centre (CCC), a dark money non-profit, to create an "intergroup" of Members of European Parliament (MEPs mostly of far-right ideologies) and bid on industry's behalf.
This web of deceit has also found its way to Bangladesh. Voice of Vapers Bangladesh (VoV Bangladesh), a Facebook page run by an association of Bangladesh-based vape traders, BENDSTA, is an official partner of the BAT-puppet WVA. The page previously shared article(s) written by WVA Director Michael Landl and also invited him in a webinar demanding pro-vaping regulation. Through VoV Bangladesh, the group has been promoting vaping and other emerging tobacco products as means to achieve tobacco-free Bangladesh and spreading disinformation to derail the push for banning e-cigarettes in Bangladesh. Another pro-industry lobby group CCC has also been at work in Bangladesh. On 10 March 2021, an article titled "Why don’t we give consumers a choice?" surfaced on a Dhaka-based bi-lingual news portal. The article, written by a Rabiul Alam, retaliated against the criticisms of Dr. Rajib Joarder, a Ministry of Health official who is actively engaged in WVA’s pro-vaping campaigns. The writer is mentioned as a ‘policy fellow of Consumer Choice Center (CCC)’. CCC’s website also does not provide any image or other detail of the author.
It should be noted that e-cigarettes and emerging tobacco products have been banned in at least 32 countries including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore. Bangladesh must put an end to the manipulation and disinformation campaign run by a vested quarter and amend the tobacco control law at the earliest to ban production, import, marketing and sale of such products.