The adverse impacts of tobacco consumption take the lives of 25.54 percent of adult men and 9.68 percent women in Bangladesh each year, said State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Malek quoting the statistics of The Tobacco Atlas.
Talking to reporters at the ministry, Zahid Malek made the remarks on Wednesday and said: "Each year at least 1,61,200 people die of various tobacco related diseases including cancer, stroke, and heart attacks."
The number of deaths will continue to rise if an integrated tobacco control policy is not implemented quickly, he said.
The government has taken a number of measures to control the consumption of tobacco, including imposing taxes and forming management policies for tobacco control.
He also inaugurated a television spot “Bishdhoa”, which depicts and discusses the dangerous impacts of tobacco on the human body. The spot will be aired by television channels for six weeks.
