Improper health warnings

A majority of tobacco companies in Bangladesh do not follow the tobacco control act properly while providing pictorial health warning on packets, reports The Daily Star citing a new study.

The Tobacco Control and Research Cell (TCRC) of Dhaka International University in association with Bangladesh Tamak Birodhi Jote, a coalition of anti-tobacco organizations, conducted the study through surveying 437 samples of tobacco products from December 2018 to March 2019.

The study found that 88 percent of tobacco products are marketed without proper pictorial health warning as per the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act. The study also said a majority of the companies provide such warnings, though in a neglectful manner.

“It is frustrating to find that only a few tobacco products are using pictorial warnings properly,” said Farhana Zaman Liza, one of the lead researchers.