Anger over tobacco place at rules meet

Anti-tobacco campaigners have protested against the involvement of tobacco companies in drafting Bangladesh’s Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) Rules 2014, according to a story in The Financial Express.

The advocacy group Progga, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance jointly registered the protest, saying there was no scope for involving the tobacco industry in enacting the rules.

And they supported their contention by quoting Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The campaigners voiced concerns specifically about the presence of two representatives each from the Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers’ Association and the Bidi Shilpa Malik Samity at a meeting held at the law ministry on Wednesday to review the draft rules.

The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the ministry had invited the tobacco representatives to the meeting.