Md. Shahedul Alam, Sadia Galiba Prova, Farhat Lamisa, Md. Mehedi Hasan, Md. Hasan Shahriar, and ABM Zubair.
Bangladesh’s already long-drawn-out amendment process of its tobacco control law, namely the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2013, has dragged itself into its third year in July 2024.The preliminary draft, rooted in the WHO FCTC and global best practices, contains a number of proposals such as eliminating Designated Smoking Areas in all public places and public transport, banning tobacco product displays, mandating license for tobacco sale, banning so-called corporate social responsibility programs of tobacco companies, banning sale of loose tobacco products, banning production, import and sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, and increasing the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging. Apart from the sluggish progress, the amendment process has been subjected to repeated instances of tobacco industry interference aimed at misleading policymakers and derailing as well as weakening the draft legislation. Most of the strategies employed by the industry, so far, resemble those used during the 2013 amendment of Bangladesh’s tobacco control law, and those from the well-evidenced tobacco industry playbook around the world. However, what is unprecedented is the extent to which several external entities, in the form of so-called international experts and organizations, attempted to influence both policymakers and public opinion against the draft amendment.
Within weeks of the publication of the preliminary draft law in 19 June 2022, the Intellectual Property Association of Bangladesh organized a policy dialogue where it questioned whether the proposals were implementable and claimed that the proposals, if realised, would threaten the livelihoods of 6-7 million people and drastically reduce the government’s revenue earning from the tobacco industry. The Director-General of The Intellectual Property Association who spoke at the policy dialogue event served as the Head of Public Affairs & Company Secretary of British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB). The Association also claimed that two participating organisations in the event, Grassroot People’s Awareness for Development and Alliance for Social Development are ‘anti-tobacco’ organisations although there had been zero track record of these organisations being involved in any anti-tobacco activism or advocacy. It should be noted that a similar tactic was previously employed during the 2013 amendment process when ASH Bangladesh, an organisation that has no known links to tobacco control and no previous history of anti-tobacco advocacy, endorsed the stance taken by the tobacco industry and even resorted to legal action to delay the implementation of graphic health warning on tobacco packs.
Since June 2022, there have been several such events where the tobacco industry has used third-parties to influence policy talks surrounding the amendment and promote arguments about potential job loss and fall in government revenue without supporting evidence. The National Association of Small & Cottage Industries of Bangladesh also organized several press conferences around the country opposing the proposed licensing system for tobacco product retailers, despite such systems being recognized globally as effective tobacco control measures.
In addition to NASCIB, some topmost business organisations of the country, where BATB and Japan Tobacco International officials hold leading positions, sent their objections to the draft in writing. BATB also wrote to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) where it reiterated its claim that the proposed amendment would cause revenue losses of around BDT 30,000 crore (roughly 3.1 billion USD). Pushed by BATB, NBR, a non-health govt. body, also voiced similar concern to the Health Ministry that implementation may cause a spike in the influx of illicit counterfeit tobacco products.
The tobacco industry also used front groups to create a false narrative around vaping and e-cigarettes. Organisations such as Voice of Vapors (VoV) and Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA) argued that banning vaping would lead to an increase in smoking and that vaping is 95% less harmful than cigarettes. VoV which is an official partner of BAT-funded World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) hosted numerous webinars with the participation of WVA leaders and BENDSTA members. VoV also organized a summit in partnership with Asian Harm Reduction Alliance (AHRA), an event that was supported by PMI-funded Foundation for Smoke-free World (FSFW, now known as Global Action to End Smoking). The summit was attended by representatives from key government bodies. BENDSTA also organized a press conference on 04 July 2022, where it cited US-based TI-affiliated lobby group Consumer Choice Centre findings in support of its argument.
Furthermore, a group of so-called international experts, linked to the PMI-funded FSFW, wrote to the MoHFW in 2022, advocating for e-cigarette regulation rather than an outright ban and suggested it as a safer alternative. Similarly, Tholos Foundation, a partner of PMI-funded organsation Americans for Tax Reform, submitted a written opinion to the MoHFW arguing against the ban on e-cigarettes. Moreover, a former president of FSFW wrote a column urging Bangladesh to adopt vaping-friendly policies which was published by a page called Tobacco Harm Reduction.Net. On 31 May 2023, popular daily the Dhaka Tribune published a full-page supplement that included two opinion pieces on tobacco harm reduction.
The tobacco industry interference to thwart the ongoing amendment process stands out from all previous such cases due to its excessive use of self-claimed international experts and organizations, particularly focused on opposing the proposed ban on e-cigarette and vape products.
To further influence public opinion and obstruct the amendment process, some economists have also published articles, that reiterate the industry’s claim regarding potential negative impact on revenue earnings while ignoring the fact that economic loss incurred from tobacco use related illness and disabilities far exceeds the revenue generated from TI. A number of reports also surfaced on print, TV and online media outlets which strongly echoed all tobacco industry arguments such as how introducing a licensing system would allegedly threaten livelihoods of small retailers, how banning tobacco industry corporate social responsibility would hinder Bangladesh from achieving SDGs and why tobacco companies must be consulted as stakeholders before formulating tobacco control policies. The media campaign also tried to establish that abolishing DSAs would increase second-hand smoke exposure at home and increase potential risks to women and children.
Way Forward
According to the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023, the most cases of tobacco industry interference observed in Bangladesh were focused on thwarting the amendment. Bangladesh ranks the worst on the interference index in South Asia with a score of 72. Being the first signatory of the FCTC, Bangladesh has the obligation to protect public health policy formulation from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. As a country at crossroads that has also been going through the unique opportunity offered by Demographic Dividend, Bangladesh must realize that its long-term interest has always been at odds with that of the tobacco industry. The government must not allow itself to get derailed by the disinformation campaign of tobacco companies and finalize the draft amendment at the earliest.
Md. Shahedul Alam is Head of Research and Advocacy for PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) in Bangladesh. Sadia Galiba Prova is the Coordinator for PROGGA. Farhat Lamisa is a Program Officer for PROGGA. Md. Mehedi Hasan, Head of Digital Media and TI Accountability for PROGGA. Md. Hasan Shahriar is Head of Programs at PROGGA. ABM Zubair is Executive Director of PROGGA and Director of the Center for Research and Advocacy to Fight Tobacco (CRAFT) in Bangladesh.