Tobacco makers\\\' drives at universities to hire hands

Tobacco is an addictive element having not a single usefulness. Despite knowing the bad effects, millions of people consume tobacco and thousands are being added to the group globally each year. The government of Bangladesh has formulated Smoking and Tobacco Product Usage (Control) Act back in 2005 and amended the act in 2013 accordingly. According to the amended tobacco control act, all forms of advertisement and promotion of tobacco products, smoking in public places, using brand name on CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities etc. have been strictly banned.
But the tobacco companies are cunningly violating the amended tobacco control act before the administration in broad daylight.  
For instance, recently Philip Morris International (PMI) - a multinational tobacco company, has launched a campaign titled 'Be the One' in four different private university campuses [e.g. University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), United International University (UIU), East West University (EWU) and American International University (AIUB)] in Dhaka City to sort out the potential employees among the meritorious students to work for the tobacco company.
Investigation at ULAB has found that PMI has made a large booth with attractive design and decoration and help desk inside the campus and the appointed some agents to provide guidance to the students who have crossed at least 95 credits in the university. The enlisted candidates will be informed for attending formal interviews before they are appointed to PMI. When asked about the registration procedure, they told me that a valid identity card is needed for enrolling. Then it (PMI) will make contact with me following the contact details of the information form. However, I also wanted to know where the PMI office in Dhaka is and where I shall have to go to attend the interview, and they replied that I will be informed of it later over telephone. It seemed little weird to me as they want me to get enrolled and simultaneously not providing me the right information I need.
The booth they installed inside the campus is symbolic to their local brand - Marlboro. The colour scheme, attires of the agents and even the leaflets - everything is the symbol of their brand, which is a disguised brand promotion and violation of the amended tobacco control act.
It is also creating a positive image in the society for them as they are employing unemployed youths (although there is no exact statistics found of how many youths have been employed so far by PMI, and in most cases, the youths are engaged at point-of-sales to promote the brand - Marlboro).
Besides, the campaign is taking place inside an educational institution which is declared a smoking-free zone with signage around entrance of the university building. So, how is it possible to run a tobacco company's covert campaign inside a designated smoking-free zone? Did not the university administration notice the fact, or aiding PMI to expand business?    
Recently a renowned minister of the ruling party was highlighted for his 'unconscious' smoking on a stage of a school that was declared a smoking-free zone, and it is a lesson for all that the minister apologised publicly for what he had done.
But the tobacco companies are abusing the educational institutions in clever manners to sustain their business. This veiled promotion and expansion of tobacco business will bring a bad luck for the coming generations of the country. They will get addicted to tobacco which ultimately will lead them to premature damage of their health and wealth.      
Therefore, it is a must to shield the educational institutions from the clutch of tobacco and tobacco industries. I humbly urge Mr Nurul Islam Nahid, the Minister for Education, to take necessary steps soon over the matter so that all the educational institutions in Bangladesh turn free of all forms of influences by tobacco and tobacco companies.
H M Al Imran Khan (Ratan) is a Development Activist. E-mail: [email protected]