The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has cancelled a consultative workshop which was scheduled to be held with health professionals on Sunday (March 27).
Non-communicable Disease Control Program of DGHS and Bangladesh Blind Mission (BBM) were jointly scheduled to hold the workshop on ‘Present Situation of Tobacco Cessation, Challenges and Way-Forward’ at the conference room of DGHS at Mohakhali in the capital. Later, the event was cancelled after realizing that the BBM is working to retain the interest of tobacco companies.
It was alleged that the Bangladesh Blind Mission convinced the DGHS to arrange such an event aiming to promote e-cigarettes and get closer to policymakers. The organisation is currently implementing project with the financial support of the transnational tobacco companies.
Prof Dr Mohammad Robed Amin, Line Director at Non-communicable Disease Control Program; said that the meeting was cancelled. “They (Bangladesh Blind Mission) misled us. We thought they were working against tobacco. After we found out that they were working to protect the interests of the tobacco companies through applying tactics, we canceled the programme with them.”
