Tobacco-related diseases kill 57,000 in BD a year


FE Team | Published: December 13, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00


FE Report Every year over 57,000 people die of tobacco related diseases in Bangladesh. Concerted efforts are needed to fight against diseases caused by tobacco, said speakers at a roundtable in the city Monday. Tobacco consumption is still high in Bangladesh even after five years of passage of a Tobacco Control Act in Parliament. Adequate enforcement and the amendment to the Act are necessary to plug the loopholes to fight against tobacco menace. Treatment cost for tobacco-related illness in the country is estimated at Tk 50.9 billion including Tk 5.8 billion for passive smoking, they mentioned. The observation came at the roundtable on "Tuberculosis and Tobacco Control" at the VIP lounge of the National Press Club. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh Rural Advance­ment Committee (BRAC) and the country's leading financial daily The Financial Express jointly organised the roundtable. General Manager (GM) of The Financial Express Maj (Retd) Md Atiar Rahman presided over the roundtable while senior journalist and consulting editor of the financial daily Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury moderated it. Former cabinet secretary Md Abdul Karim was present as the chief guest. Programme head of BRAC health Dr Md Akramul Islam presented the keynote paper on "Tuberculosis and Tobacco Control". Head and senior consultant of the Department of Dentistry of BIRDEM and a veteran anti-tobacco campaigner Prof Arup Ratan Choudhury said tobacco causes a big harm to human body. "Smoking can easily affect the entire human body," he said. He called upon the government to enforce pictorial warnings on cigarette packets that would help control sale of tobacco largely. Senior vice-president and chairman of South East Asian Region of National Anti-Tuberculosis Association of Bangladesh (NATAB) Mozaffar Hossain Poltu said that tobacco which causes tuberculosis is widely visible in the country's densely populated areas. He blamed poverty for spreading tuberculosis in the country, and suggested to control population growth as it was partly responsible for the disease. "Bangladesh ranks 6th among the 22 high-risk tuberculosis countries in the globe. About 300,000 people in the country fall prey to tuberculosis every year," he said and called for enforcement of the Anti-tobacco Act. He said tobacco cultivation had largely decreased soil fertility and hampered the production of other crops. "We must take concerted efforts with the participation of people from all walks of life for creating awareness against tobacco," he added. Md Abdul Karim called for bringing necessary amendment to the existing Anti-tobacco Act. "There should be some amendments to the Act with the provision of putting restrictions on buying tobacco unless a person becomes an adult," he said. He, however, said stopping of tobacco use is not possible overnight as smokers are habitually addicted to cigarette and bidi and it might take some time to give up the habit. He suggested that the government should impose more taxes on cigarettes with a view to controlling the sale of cigarettes and other form of tobacco. "The religious clerics (Alems and Imams) can involve themselves to make people aware about the harmful effects of tobacco," he said. "As part of corporate social responsibility, the tobacco companies should spend money for treatment of tuberculosis patients as they are spending money for social afforestation programme," he mentioned. Programme Manager (Tuberculosis) of National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP) Dr Md Ashaque Husain said Bangladesh had achieved a notable success in controlling tuberculosis than many other countries including the East European region. Maj (Retd) Md Atiar Rahman said the anti- tobacco campaign should first start within the family. He said it is not possible to stop smoking by only enactment of law and through law enforcement agencies. "We should tell the people that tobacco smoking is detrimental to our health," he said and stressed on carrying out motivational campaign against tobacco among the garment workers. Director of the Research Institute of Tuberculosis (TB) Dr Nobukatsu Ishikawa said the government and the people of all sections could work together in controlling tuberculosis (TB). "There should be strong commitment from the government. And media could play a vital role in addressing the problem," he added. Management Consultant of The Financial Express Md Riazuddin Khan said the future generation must be kept away from taking tobacco. Former director general (DG) of the National Institute of Diseases of Chest and Hospital Dr AK Md Ahsan Ali suggested to strengthen mass awareness campaign against tobacco. Project Coordinator of anti- tobacco programme of National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury said more efforts should be made to address the harmful effects of chewable tobacco. Technical Adviser (Public Health) of International Union Against Tuberculosis (TB) and Lung Disease Ishrat Chowdhury has said policy intervention is a must to discourage tobacco cultivation. National Consultant (Chronic Disease and Health Promotion) of the World Health Organisaiton (WHO) Dr Md Nazmul Karim said there should be a unified action to check non- communicable diseases (NCDs) such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory diseases. Director of Policy Research for Development Alternative Shima Das Shimu said tobacco cultivation should be stopped as it had decreased fertility of land and reduced food production. Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury said the issue of tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco control is important in the country. He opined that the suggestions from the Monday's roundtable would help fight against tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco control in the country. Dr Md Akramul Islam said tuberculosis (TB) needs to be integrated with tobacco control programme. "Over 5.4 million people die annually across the globe from tobacco related diseases. Out of the figure, 1.4 million die in the South East Asian region. If the current global trend continues, it is estimated that tobacco will kill more than 8.0 million people annually by 2030," he said. He suggested to establish good relationship with the tuberculosis (TB) patients, make people aware about harmful effect of tobacco use, promote smoking-free health centre and environment, and identify current smokers among tuberculosis patients (TB).

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