Nearly half of adults using public transport were exposed to secondhand smoke in Bangladesh, according to the latest nationally representative data cited by stakeholders, underscoring an enforcement gap despite years of tobacco-control measures and driver training.
Stakeholders on Wednesday called on the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to enforce tobacco-control laws more rigorously and make public transport completely tobacco- and smoke-free.
The call came at a meeting titled “Way Forward to Ensure Tobacco-Free Public Transport,” jointly organised by BRTA and Dhaka Ahsania Mission at the BRTA headquarters in Banani.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2017 found that 44% of adults who used public transport had been exposed to tobacco smoke, a figure stakeholders cited to highlight the scale of involuntary exposure.
The figure, however, is nine years old and does not establish the current level of exposure.
BRTA Chairman Mohammad Habibur Rahman said more than 61,000 public transport drivers had received training on tobacco- and smoke-free transport since 2019 with support from Dhaka Ahsania Mission.
“This initiative will continue in the future to protect passengers and transport workers,” he said.
Stakeholders said passengers, particularly women and children, remained vulnerable when drivers, helpers or other passengers smoked inside vehicles.
They called for stricter enforcement of fines and mandatory display of “No Tobacco Use and No Smoking” signs and warning notices on vehicles and at all BRTA divisional and circle offices.
Existing tobacco-control rules require non-smoking warning notices to be displayed prominently on public vehicles.
Other recommendations included regular awareness programs for transport owners, workers and drivers, using BRTA’s website and social media to publicise tobacco-control rules, and printing anti-smoking messages on bus tickets.
Shariful Islam of Dhaka Ahsania Mission said GATS 2017 estimated 37.8 million adults used tobacco in Bangladesh. WHO data put adult tobacco-use prevalence at 35.3% that year.
Speakers said training alone would not make transport smoke-free without consistent enforcement, warning notices and greater accountability among operators, drivers and passengers.
