Staff Reporter, Dhaka : Students participating in the youth campaign organized by Ahsania Mission Youth for Health & Well Being said that there is no alternative to amend the Tobacco Act and increase the tobacco tax at a higher rate in the next budget to protect the young society from the clutches of tobacco. They said this at the anti-tobacco youth campaign program organized at Dhaka University’s Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, May 14, 2023. At this time, the organization organized a mass-signature petition in favor of a tobacco tax increase. More than 300 Dhaka University students signed it.

The youth said in their speech, “Bangladesh is the first country in the list of the highest tobacco users in the world. 35.3 percent of adults in the country use tobacco. Every year 1 lakh 61 thousand people die of tobacco-related diseases and many become crippled prematurely. But due to the easy availability of tobacco products like cigarettes, bidis, jorda, gul, etc., it is not possible to reduce this damage. Especially since the level of tax increase on low-grade cigarettes is insignificant, tobacco products remain readily available. As a result, it is not possible to reduce the use of harmful products like bidis, and cigarettes among the young population. Studies have shown that 90 percent of teenage smokers become addicted to this harmful product by the age of 13.”

“To reduce health risks, the World Health Organization is talking about smoking cessation. In such a situation, the availability of tobacco can cause a new disaster at the national level. Keeping these risks in mind, conscious students signed the demand for tax amendments in the upcoming budget to increase the price of tobacco products.

At the same time, they took part in the campaign with various festoons for the amendment of the Tobacco Control Act to ensure a 100% smoke-free environment, cancellation of smoking zones in public places, ban on e-cigarettes to protect the public, stop the display of tobacco products and ban the street sale of bidi-cigarettes. Besides, they called upon all concerned to speedily pass the draft law to strengthen the Tobacco Control Act with the aim of creating a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040 as announced by the Honorable Prime Minister.