Involvement of cos in drafting anti-tobacco rules protested

Anti-tobacco campaigners have protested the involvement of tobacco companies in drafting Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) Rules 2014. Progga, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance jointly registered the protest, saying there is no scope for involving the tobacco industry in enacting the rules as per the article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), said a press release on Thursday. The campaigners voiced concerns about the presence of two representatives each from the Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacture Association and the Bidi Shilpa Malik Samity in a meeting held on Wednesday at the conference room of the Law Ministry to review the draft of the rules. The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the ministry invited the owners’ representatives to the meeting. The tobacco companies can in no way have their say in formulating an effective rule, they said, adding that being one of signatories of the FCTC, the government should follow the international convention, according to a news agency.