In the world of addiction in human society, there are drugs of addiction including heroin, marijuana, yaba, among which tobacco is also an addiction product. which common people are using openly. But it is not seen that the strict steps taken by the government to stop other addictive substances or are being done in the case of tobacco. For which men and women of all professions of the country are taking this drug. Due to which many people are now becoming addicted to tobacco. So, like other drugs, the government should take strict measures to stop tobacco addiction. Although there is a law to ban tobacco, it has not been seen to be implemented in practice. Tobacco is the most readily available drug in the world of drugs. The use of this drug is similar to that of other drugs. There is only one reason for the increase, that is the lack of proper enforcement of the law. As the substance is readily available and cheaper than other drugs, young and old are taking it openly. Children of schools, colleges, madrassas and universities are getting involved in this drug. Many people are smoking marijuana between tobacco cigarettes and bidis. People are consuming ganja through these mediums as tobacco sticks and cigarettes are very easily available. Although the use of tobacco and tobacco products is a threat to public health, 43 percent of adults in Bangladesh use tobacco, of which 23 percent (20.19 million) use tobacco by smoking and 27.2 percent use smokeless tobacco by drinking as jorda, many as gul. . Rates of smokeless tobacco use are higher among women. In Bangladesh, about 7 percent of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 use tobacco products, which is very alarming. World No Tobacco Day is celebrated on May 31 every year through various events around the world. Bangladesh also organizes various awareness programs on the occasion of the day. But is the world completely free of tobacco? Or what is the image of our country? Not only lung cancer, but also cancer of esophagus, larynx, kidney, pancreas, cervix due to tobacco consumption. Apart from this, there are various diseases including heart disease, stroke, bronchitis, tuberculosis, diabetes, asthma. Another terrible disease is caused by smoking. That is Berger’s disease of the foot. Affected leg rots. And the only treatment for this disease is to amputate the affected leg. Preventing paralysis. According to the World Health Organization, smoking is responsible for 30 percent of deaths from heart disease, 38 percent of deaths from cancer, 35 percent of deaths from lung tuberculosis, and 20 percent of deaths from other respiratory diseases. Medical expenses due to use of tobacco products have increased manifold which is a huge burden on the health system of the country. Apart from this, the country has suffered greatly socially and economically. About 1 lakh people die prematurely in the country every year due to tobacco use related diseases. The amount of revenue the government gets from the tobacco sector, the government has to spend twice as much on the health sector to treat sick patients due to tobacco use. In this way, the country is facing thousands of crores of rupees loss every year. Calculating the losses due to tobacco, it has been found that about 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) is lost due to tobacco every year. According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization in 2014, Bangladesh is one of the three countries where cigarettes are available at the lowest prices in the world. After this, Nepal and Myanmar are located. A proposal from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids found that Bangladesh’s current tobacco tax structure is extremely complex. Supplementary tax (excise tax) is said to be levied as a percentage of the price. Surcharges vary significantly by type and brand of tobacco product. The tax level on cheaper brands is much lower than on expensive brands. Cigarettes have a tiered tax structure, which is levied at the retail price level as a variable ad-valorem tax. The tax levied on bidis is very low and is applicable only to the tariff value fixed by the government. Meanwhile, tobacco companies’ tax evasion and campaign tactics are hampering tobacco control. Tobacco companies become more active every year with budgets in mind. They try to influence NBR and Finance Ministry in various ways. According to the FCTC of the World Health Organization, these meetings are supposed to be held in public, but it is not accepted in our country. DO collect letters from MPs in support of their claims. In the last budget speech, the Hon’ble Finance Minister also acknowledged that “harmonizing global anti-smoking state policies, reducing the health risks of tobacco products and raising revenue is a major challenge”. In this situation, considering the negative impact of tobacco on public health, environment and economy, I propose to immediately formulate an effective tariff policy to implement the Prime Minister’s dream- ‘Complete elimination of tobacco use from Bangladesh by 2040’. The price of tobacco products should be increased every year through effective taxation in line with the increase in per capita income and inflation so that tobacco products gradually become unaffordable. Supplementary tax should be increased to 40 percent of the retail price per packet by raising the tariff value of bidi. In case of Gul-Jorda, the supplementary tax should be increased by 70 percent. The health promotion surcharge on tobacco should be increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. An effective tobacco tariff policy should be formulated immediately to replace the existing tariff structure on tobacco. If the prime minister’s announcement is implemented and concerted action is taken in the light of FCTC, it is possible to eradicate tobacco use by 2040. The aim of the Tobacco Control Act is not to protect the business interests of tobacco companies, but to protect public health from the harmful effects of tobacco. Tobacco companies aim to increase the consumption of tobacco products day by day and expand the trade. Ultimately that puts public health at serious risk and will continue to do so in the future. The government is working regularly to regulate tobacco products by legislation, so that the use of tobacco products is discouraged. Not only tobacco products, the government is very vocal in stopping the sale, marketing and import of e-cigarettes. In order to take more strict measures in this regard, I feel that the amendment draft of the Tobacco Control Act adopted by the Ministry of Health needs to be passed quickly. In order to stop tobacco and tobacco use, people from all walks of life should be aware along with the government. Especially the local police administration should be strict. If the police administration is a little stricter locally, it will be possible to stop drugs like tobacco and tobacco. Meetings with local tobacco farmers should be held to discourage them from growing tobacco. Import of foreign tobacco products should be stopped.
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