Public Health on Top

Bangladesh has very recently categorized cigarette filters and thin plastic covers of cigarette packs as 'single-use plastic' (SUP). In a recent laudable and time-fitting move, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued a circular that enlists 17 categories of single-use plastic that pose a grave threat to the environment.

Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation to ban cigarette filters and vaporizers, a landmark decision on the further implementation of Article 18 (Protection of the Environment) adopted by the 183 parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), Conference of the Parties (COP10), held on February 10, 2024. With a view to expediting the implementation of the decision, PROGGA met officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on multiple occasions. Later during the 4th Conference of the Inter-governmental Negotiating Committee (INC) held on 23-29 April 2024, Bangladesh took a particularly strong position to categorize cigarette filters as harmful plastic waste.

To categorize cigarette filters as SUP is undoubtedly a time-fitting move. We hope that Bangladesh will soon claim the pride of being the first country to ban cigarette filters for its detrimental effects on the environment. However, the tobacco industry is surely going to leave no stone unturned to derail such move. In this circumstance, the relevant government offices must be on the lookout to fend off tobacco industry interference. The anti-tobacco organizations should play the role of watchdogs.