Tobacco control in Bangladesh and challenges ahead
Tobacco use is a widespread phenomenon in Bangladesh. According to
the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on the Global Tobacco
Epidemic 2008, nearly two-thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10
countries including Bangladesh. Two in five people aged 15 years or more
use tobacco in one way or another. A WHO study estimated that, in 2004,
57000 people lost their life prematurely as a result of tobacco use and
382000 people became disabled. It is well established that the net loss
to the economy due to tobacco in Bangladesh is much higher than
revenues earned from tobacco.
Addressing these issues, the fight against tobacco has been taken for many years. Finally, we have made strides in the fight against tobacco. The long awaited bill — Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) Bill 2013 has already been placed in the parliament, reviewed and waiting for final signature. This is a historical feat. However, challenges are still there. Experts identified sensitising people to comply with law and help establish and strengthen support services to quit tobacco products as two major challenges.
Even with the finalised bill, there is shortcoming like keeping provision of smoking zone in public places which is a contrary to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that Bangladesh ratified. Keeping this zone in public places will pollute the entire environment that expose people at risk of passive smoking hazards.
Even with the flawless law in place, implementation of law is the biggest challenge. Most of the people are not aware about the law, about fatal consequences and the suitable ways to quit smoking or using smoke free tobacco like betel leaves.
“There is a need of strong nationwide campaign specially addressing people living in rural area on dangers of tobacco use and laws” says Iqbal Masud, one of law drafting committee members.
As tobacco smoking causes serious addiction, it is not always easy to quit. Many people want to quit, but they just cannot find a way to control over nicotine. There are strong motivational counseling and drugs that can help quit smoking which is virtually absent in Bangladesh. “We need to set up help centre where people will be counseled to quit smoking and get drug therapy to like nicotine patch, chewing gum with proper instruction in order to help difficult to quit cases. For mass population, we can incorporate awareness programs, smoke quitting counseling and other services in the primary healthcare setting along with other issues”, Mr Masud added.
One of the main behavioural health risks for a host of chronic illnesses is the use of tobacco and related products. Awareness is the key to fight tobacco. Interventions to reduce or quit smoking should be directed towards the poor, young, and people with lower education, and women should be targeted for prevention of the use of smokeless tobacco products. Along with law in place, it is necessary to ensure that people are prepared to help support full implementation of law and they find it easier to overcome addiction with supportive services available in their place.
E-mail:milonmks@gmail.com
Addressing these issues, the fight against tobacco has been taken for many years. Finally, we have made strides in the fight against tobacco. The long awaited bill — Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) Bill 2013 has already been placed in the parliament, reviewed and waiting for final signature. This is a historical feat. However, challenges are still there. Experts identified sensitising people to comply with law and help establish and strengthen support services to quit tobacco products as two major challenges.
Even with the finalised bill, there is shortcoming like keeping provision of smoking zone in public places which is a contrary to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that Bangladesh ratified. Keeping this zone in public places will pollute the entire environment that expose people at risk of passive smoking hazards.
Even with the flawless law in place, implementation of law is the biggest challenge. Most of the people are not aware about the law, about fatal consequences and the suitable ways to quit smoking or using smoke free tobacco like betel leaves.
“There is a need of strong nationwide campaign specially addressing people living in rural area on dangers of tobacco use and laws” says Iqbal Masud, one of law drafting committee members.
As tobacco smoking causes serious addiction, it is not always easy to quit. Many people want to quit, but they just cannot find a way to control over nicotine. There are strong motivational counseling and drugs that can help quit smoking which is virtually absent in Bangladesh. “We need to set up help centre where people will be counseled to quit smoking and get drug therapy to like nicotine patch, chewing gum with proper instruction in order to help difficult to quit cases. For mass population, we can incorporate awareness programs, smoke quitting counseling and other services in the primary healthcare setting along with other issues”, Mr Masud added.
One of the main behavioural health risks for a host of chronic illnesses is the use of tobacco and related products. Awareness is the key to fight tobacco. Interventions to reduce or quit smoking should be directed towards the poor, young, and people with lower education, and women should be targeted for prevention of the use of smokeless tobacco products. Along with law in place, it is necessary to ensure that people are prepared to help support full implementation of law and they find it easier to overcome addiction with supportive services available in their place.
E-mail:milonmks@gmail.com
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