The Ministry of Industries is requesting tobacco companies in Bangladesh to suspend production, supply, marketing and sales temporarily.
The reason is that smokers face 14 times higher risk of dying from Covid-19 than non-smokers, according to some research.
Considering the risks, the Ministry of Industries has issued a letter in this regard on Tuesday to tobacco companies, including British American Tobacco Bangladesh.
“The industries ministry has urged the companies to assist the government in preventing coronavirus,” said Habibur Rahman Khan, additional secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
He made the statement while briefing reporters at Bangladesh Secretariat on Wednesday.
Habibur Rahman, also media coordinator of Health Services Division has said: “The industry ministry has also sent letters to the regulatory bodies to monitor tobacco issues.”
“As we [Ministry of Health and Family Welfare] do not have authority over tobacco selling, we requested the Ministry of Industries to issue a letter in this regard,” he clarified.
A letter signed by Khairul Alam Sheikh, joint secretary at the Health Ministry, was sent to the Ministry of Industries on Monday.
“For the betterment of public health, the ministry [of industries] is requested to suspend production, distribution and sales of tobacco-related products,” the letter reads.
In the letter, the health ministry also said the World Health Organization (WHO) has discouraged the use of tobacco-related products as tobacco users are considered to be more vulnerable to Covid-19 – a highly contagious and deadly respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus, named Sars-CoV-2.
“We have received the letter and are taking necessary actions,” said Helal Uddin, additional secretary of the Ministry of Industries.
“We are sharing our steps with the Health Services Division,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
However, he did not share further information with the media in this regard.
India and some other countries have already suspended tobacco production following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Earlier, Awami League lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury sent a letter to the Health Ministry, asking to take action regarding the use of tobacco in the country.
