The ULAB Kaleidoscope Club, an initiative of the Center for Enterprise and Society (CES), and Nari Maitree have organized a signature collection campaign on the ULAB campus demanding an amendment to the tobacco control law.
The day-long campaign was held on Monday, says a press release.
The organizers said the signatures collected from the campaign will be submitted to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In the campaign, university students put forward six proposals to amend the existing tobacco control law – banning designated smoking areas in all public places and public transport; prohibition of display of tobacco products in places of sale of tobacco products; banning any corporate social responsibility (CSR) program by tobacco companies; increasing the size of pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packets/cartons from 50% to 90%; banning the retail sale of bidi-cigarettes, unwrapped and open smokeless tobacco products; and completely banning all emerging tobacco products including e-cigarettes.
Nasreen Akhter, project coordinator of Nari Maitree, said Bangladesh is one of the top countries in South Asia and among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of tobacco use.
According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, 35.3% or about 37.8 million adults (15 years and above) use tobacco in Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Md Azizul Islam Tuhin, president of ULAB Kaleidoscope Club, said everyone should be more aware and take steps considering everyone around them.
According to Tobacco Atlas 2018, more than 161,000 people die prematurely every year due to tobacco use in Bangladesh.
Students said the faster the law is amended, the more people's lives will be saved.
