Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in Bangladesh

19th June 2023: Bangladesh: During a seminar organised by Nari Maitree – an NGO advocating women's rights – MP Aroma Dutta (Awami League) called for the swift approval of a draft amendment to the Tobacco Control Act, which aims to ban electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), and make Bangladesh tobacco-free by 2040. Dutta highlighted the high rate of tobacco use in Bangladesh, particularly among women, and the associated health risks such as cancer and heart disease, and emphasised that the amendments aim to protect everyone from the harmful effects of tobacco, press reports.
22nd May 2023: Bangladesh: Hossain Ali Khondoker, co-ordinator of the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC), told press that the government is currently working on amending Act No. 11/2005 on Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Tobacco Control Act) in order to ban electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Khondoker warned against ENDS, and reported that a harm-reduction approach is a misleading concept that misguides youths. Heated tobacco is not defined as a tobacco product in the Tobacco Control Act, or in its amendments.
3rd March 2023: Bangladesh: During an event to discuss the role of the media in tobacco control, the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bangladesh, urged the government to amend the tobacco control law and ban all types of electronic smoking, impose more restrictions on tobacco retail, and increase the size of health warnings on cigarette packets from 50% to 90%, press reports.
30th January 2023: Bangladesh: In response to the proposed amendment to ban vaping and heated tobacco products, the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (Bendsta) has called on authorities to withdraw the proposed ban and to consult with all industry members before making any policy decisions, media reports. The organisation fears the ban will jeopardise the prime minister's vision of making the country tobacco-free by 2040.
16th December 2022: Bangladesh: The Ministry of Health intends to ban vaping products and heated tobacco by amending the Smoking and Use of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, press reports. According to our understanding, no bill has been published yet.
27th June 2022: Bangladesh: A proposed amendment to the Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act entails a ban on production, import, and sales of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, media reports. A consultation on the proposal is open until 14th July.
24th May 2022: Bangladesh: Around 40 members of Parliament have signed a declaration vowing to achieve a “tobacco-free Bangladesh” by 2040, fulfilling a “visionary statement” made by prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2016, press reports.

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