RANGPUR, June 1 (BSS): Speakers at separate discussions here have demanded imposing extremely high taxes on tobacco products to reduce consumption and gradually ban tobacco cultivation and sales of all its products for saving human lives.
They were speaking at the pre-procession discussions arranged at different places in the city Saturday in observance of the World No Tobacco Day-2014 with the theme 'Raise Taxes on Tobacco.'
Civil Surgeon Office, District Anti-tobacco Task Force, Tobacco Control Coalition, Association for Community Development (ACD), Regional unit of Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) and different NGOs brought out processions and arranged discussions.
Officials and executives of BRAC, Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB), Self-help and Advancement Development Organisation (SHADO), Work for Better Bangladesh Trust, Organisation of Development Programme for the Under Privileged (ODPUP), Development Organisation for Rehabilitation Programme (DORP) and other organisations participated in the programmes.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Shahidul Islam attended the main discussion meeting arranged at Sadar Hospital auditorium as the chief guest with Civil Surgeon Dr Mozammel Hossain in the chair.
Sadar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Shamsul Haque, Medical Officers of the Civil Surgeon Office Dr Ruhul Amin, Dr Alema Salam, Dr Ilfat Arafi, Dr Samorpita Ghosh Tanya of FPAB, Junior Health Education Officer Mohammad Shahjahan and Project Coordinator of ACD Ehsanul Amin Emon addressed the function.
In the other discussions, members of Anti Tobacco Task Force, Tobacco Control Coalition and other organisations including Ahsan Habib Rabu, Principal Fakhrul Anam Benzu, Advocate Rothish Chandra Bhowmick, Press Club President AKM Fazlul Haque, ATMA members Manik Sarker, Mahbubul Islam, Aftab Hossain, Joynal Abedul, Abedul Hafiz, and Asaduzzaman Afzal spoke on the occasion.
In their speeches, the speakers demanded heavy taxation on all tobacco products to discourage consumption of tobacco products that cause every sixth adult death totalling 57,000 lives annually in the country.
Terming Bangladesh as the biggest tobacco consuming country, they said, thousands of people here are also suffering from lung cancer, cerebra-vascular, coronary artery, chronic obstructive pulmonary and other tobacco-attributable diseases.
Besides, the nation spends over Tk 51 billion annually in treating patients.
They suggested direct taxation at an extremely higher rate on cigarettes and all other tobacco products so that the maximum retail price of tobacco products included 70 per cent tax to force many people leaving consumption of tobacco products.
