Public Health on Top

In partnership with a renowned national daily, Policy Exchange Bangladesh, a non-government organization, has recently organized a roundtable discussion titled "Policy for Progress: Towards Harm Reduction", where the organization opposed the proposed ban on e-cigarettes and vaping in the draft amendment of the tobacco control law. A number of participants in the event are deeply involved with Philip Morris International (PMI) and previously participated in numerous forums sponsored by the PMI-funded Foundation for Smoke-Free World (FSFW). It should be noted that the same group of participants attended a conference and a roundtable in 2023, organized by Voice of Vapers (VoV) and Asia Harm Reduction Alliance (AHRA), which called for a policy move that encourages the use of e-cigarette and vaping. An FSFW-funded organization and its representatives orchestrated the event behind the curtain. Another fact that deserves mention is that Voice of Vapers, an organization pushing for vaping-friendly legislation in Bangladesh for quite some time, is an official partner of the World Vapers' Alliance (WVA) which receives funds from British American Tobacco (BAT).

Such a concerted campaign, financed by the tobacco industry, appeared at a time when the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken the initiative to amend the tobacco control law. The draft amendment is now awaiting the approval of the Cabinet. We hope, the government will not allow itself to get derailed by the ploys employed by the tobacco industry and amend the law at the earliest.