Progga staged a human chain and demonstration in front of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at Segunbagicha in the capital on Monday.
Speakers at the human chain said that although Bangladesh is the first country to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), NBR forwarded a request to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, asking them to consider the tobacco companies’ opinion about the draft of the National Tobacco Control Policy— which is a clear violation of the guidelines of FCTC’s article 5.3 (section 13).
Speakers speak at the human chain and demonstration staged by progga in front of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at Segunbagicha in Dhaka on Monday, November 11, 2019 | Dhaka TribuneUBINIG Director Sima Das Shoma said: “According to the FCTC, while the National Tobacco Control Policy is being drafted, no tobacco company is allowed to comment on any policy related to tobacco. However, NBR has issued a letter to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry to consider tobacco companies’ opinion in the draft policy.”
The health cost of tobacco consumption and how tobacco companies are forcing consumers to pay taxes were also discussed. One lakh twenty-six thousand people in Bangladesh die every year due to tobacco consumption, according to the Progga press statement.
Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust representative Shuvo Kormoker said that the tax is completely paid by the consumers, where the tax should be imposed on tobacco companies.
Representatives of National Heart Foundation, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Tamak Birodhi Nari Jote (TABINAJ), NATAB, and AID Foundation attended the human chain and demonstration against the NBR’s request to the ministry.
