Public Health on Top

Bangladesh Blind Mission (BBM) has received its second grant from Global Action to End Smoking, an organization funded by Philip Morris International (PMI). Very recently, BBM has organized a journalists' workshop on the topic of cigarette harm reduction. The organization has also published a number of articles on its website; all of which are written by the same author and full of baseless claims supporting harm reduction. Previously, BBM attempted to organize a workshop on Tobacco Cessation jointly with the Non-Communicable Disease Control Program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The attempt was later foiled by the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) and anti-tobacco organizations. The actual goal of BBM is to establish emerging tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and vaping, as so-called safe alternatives to traditional tobacco smoking. Anti-tobacco organizations must continue vigilance on activities of BBM. Simultaneously, the draft amendment of the tobacco control law must be finalized to ban e-cigarettes and vaping at the earliest.