Khairul Alam: Health Minister Zahid Malek said that more than 161,000 people die of tobacco-related diseases in Bangladesh every year.
The minister gave this information in response to a question in the national parliament on Thursday (September 7).
He said, due to the use of tobacco, smoking, and second-hand smoke, heart disease, stroke, cancer, long-term lung disease, diabetes, and other deadly diseases are seen in Bangladesh every year.
According to Bangladesh Factsheet 2018 of the South Asian Regional Office of the World Health Organization, more than 161,000 people die annually in Bangladesh due to diseases related to tobacco use.
Zahid Malek said, that to reduce the consumption of tobacco, it is necessary to impose a high tax rate on tobacco. For this purpose, it is necessary to impose a higher rate of tax on tobacco before presenting the budget for the current financial year.
A letter containing a proposal to increase the tax on tobacco was sent to the finance minister before the presentation of the budget for the current financial year.
Stating that a new addictive tobacco product called e-cigarette has been launched in the market, he said, multinational tobacco companies have brought this product to the market to make children and teenagers addicted to tobacco.
In the meantime, it has been completely banned in more than 32 countries including India, and Sri Lanka. Many other countries are under strict control. The Ministry of Commerce has been requested to ban the import of e-cigarettes in Bangladesh as well.