Reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Bangladesh will not be possible without effective tobacco control, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain said on Monday.
Around 71 percent of all deaths in Bangladesh are caused by NCDs, with tobacco use being one of the major risk factors, he said.
“Prevention of non-communicable diseases is not possible without effective tobacco control. Effective measures must be taken to reduce tobacco use in order to protect public health and safeguard the younger generation from nicotine addiction,” the minister said.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a seminar titled Actions to Control Non-Communicable Diseases and Protect Future Generations from the Harmful Effects of Tobacco and Nicotine, organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission at the CIRDAP International Conference Centre in the capital on Monday.
The minister said the government had allocated the highest-ever budget for the health sector in the national budget, but tobacco remained a major obstacle to improving public health.
He said the government was aware of the issue and had been taking measures to strengthen tobacco control.
As part of fulfilling an election manifesto commitment, the Tobacco Control Act was further amended and strengthened and passed in 2026, he said.
He also stressed the need for more effective, coordinated and timely tobacco-control measures in line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Speakers at the seminar said around 37.8 million people in Bangladesh use tobacco products, resulting in about 200,000 premature deaths every year from tobacco-related diseases, or around 546 deaths a day.
The combined health and environmental costs associated with tobacco are estimated at around Tk 87,000 crore, they said.
Tobacco cultivation also contributes to deforestation, soil degradation and increased use of chemical inputs, the speakers said.
They expressed concern over the exclusion of e-cigarettes from the amended Tobacco Control Act 2026, saying tobacco companies were using various strategies to expand their market by targeting young people.
The speakers called for stringent legal measures to ban the production, import, marketing and sale of e-cigarettes and other emerging nicotine products, as well as measures to prevent their promotion and easy availability.
They also demanded the prompt formulation of rules under the amended Tobacco Control Act 2026.
The seminar was chaired by Professor Dr Golam Rahman, president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission.
Professor Dr Syed Md Akram Hossain, chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology at Bangladesh Medical University, attended as chief discussant.
Sheikh Momena Moni, additional secretary of the Health Services Division; Mostafizur Rahman, former chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation; and S M Dr Khalilur Rahman, vice-president of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, also participated as discussants.
Iqbal Masud, director of the Health and Nutrition Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, delivered the welcome address, while project coordinator Shariful Islam presented the keynote paper.
More than 100 people, including government officials, physicians, public health experts, representatives of development organisations and university students, attended the seminar.
