World No Tobacco Day was not even on my mind until one of my students came to give me an invitation to join a rally on the day, where we would create awareness in the community.
I started dreaming of a smoke-free city by looking at this member of the young generation -- the vanguard of tobacco control.
The thought made me search for some stats, and I found that tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year, and the annual death toll in the world could rise to more than 8 million by 2030.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Bangladesh. Studies suggest that tobacco consumption also leads to cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung diseases (such as emphysema), and diabetes.
A household survey in Bangladesh estimated that tobacco-related illnesses were responsible for 16% of all deaths in the country (WHO, 2007) and that it is increasing at an alarming rate every year.
Likewise, passive smoking has also affected both children and adults, and people living in Dhaka city are bearing most of the burden caused by tobacco use.
Considering the aforementioned scenario, that could lead to major mortality indicators rising in the near future, finding useful strategies for putting a stop to the tobacco epidemic is crucial. So, what are some of the options we have to move the tobacco control agenda forward?
In recent times, Bangladesh is taking the lead in many tobacco control measures. The government passed a tobacco control act in 2005, and revised it in 2013, where three important legislations are:
Smoking is prohibited in certain public places and workplaces, such as healthcare and educational facilities, and on certain forms of public transport.
Tobacco advertising is prohibited in all print and electronic media, including at the point-of-sale.
It is required that graphic health warnings cover at least 50% of the top of the main display areas of all tobacco products.
But these legislations are yet to be enacted and require strong guidance to make it more effective. We need to take bolder steps to stamp out smoking. Here are a few potential tobacco control strategies that could usher in a tobacco end-game:
Increasing taxes substantially by doubling or tripling taxes, rather than initiating smaller incremental increases has been effective in creating significant and rapid declines in cigarette consumption in Australia, France, and South Africa.
A two-fold increase in tobacco-based products prices from 2001 to 2005 helped Australia reduce more than 50% tobacco consumption. Our government can also follow the same strategy by raising taxes substantially on tobacco products, which can increase incentive for the the smoker to quit or cut down on smoking.
Recently, the finance minister of Bangladesh increased the price of tobacco-related products in the 2015-16 budget. But the price increase is found to be very minimal, for instance Tk8 products became Tk10 after the budget.
Banning cigarettes and other tobacco product sales in any retail outlet in the city would decrease access to a product that causes clear harm, creating significant reductions in morbidity and mortality.
Only a few of the retail outlets should be given the license to sell these harmful products. Currently, even side-walk vendors can sell tobacco items, which shouldn’t be a practice.
We should start a campaign against tobacco from door to door, school to school. For this, everyone has a role to play -- the government, the private sector, academic institutions, civil society, communities, and children.
It is very important to advocate a smoke-free environment, for that we need to provide help to people who want to quit smoking. Everybody should make sure they do not smoke in public places and law-enforcing agencies should be serious in taking violators to task.
Tobacco control measures that reduce uptake and encourage smoking cessation are vital to saving crores in health-care costs, and could save the lives of many Bangladeshis. The main challenge is to find ways to adopt and implement them in Bangladesh.
Our heart is constantly pumping healthy blood. We want to walk in a cleaner environment, with fresh air. If more people stop smoking, there won’t be as many cigarette butts being littered. With fewer smokers, Dhaka will be a cleaner and less polluted city.
I really wish that our endeavour can create awareness among people about changing our environment and caring for our city. I have faith that Dhaka will really become a wonderful smoke-free city, and I hope it is not a distant dream.