“Immediate steps must be taken to protect our youths from the harmful health hazard of emerging tobacco products including e-cigarette. E-cigarette is imported from abroad as it is not produced in Bangladesh. So the government does not get much revenue from the product. In this backdrop, importing e-cigarette into the country should be banned immediately. The product should be banned also considering its adverse impacts on public health.”
Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said these while addressing a roundtable conference entitled “Emerging Tobacco Products and Bangladesh: What to do in the Present Context”, organised by the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB) in the capital on Friday.
Founder and President of the NHFB National Professor Brigadier (Retd) Abdul Malik presided over the event, while founder Secretary General Professor Khandaker Abdul Awal (Rizvi) delivered the welcome address. Speaking on the occasion Shamim Haider Patwari, MP, said that e-cigarettes have not yet been included in the prevailing tobacco control law in Bangladesh. It is important to take immediate legal action to save future generation from its harmful impact.
Speakers at the open discussion, facilitated by head of Dept. of Epidemiology and Research Prof Sohel Reza Choudhury, said that e-cigarette sales were banned in at least in 23 countries, including India and Sri Lanka, and under strict control in 41 countries. Since e-cigarettes are not a direct tobacco product, it is difficult to bring them under the control of existing tobacco control law in Bangladesh.
Unless there is a law, it is important to ban e-cigarette marketing through online shops. At the same time, steps must be taken to stop its import.
The World Health Organization has suggested controlling e-cigarettes as a serious threat to public health. Chemicals used in e-cigarettes can cause long-term damage to the respiratory system. It contains various chemicals such as microorganisms, heavy metals and formaldehyde which cause various complex diseases including cancer, heart diseases.
Nicotine in e-cigarettes' is extremely dangerous for infants and pregnant mothers. This high level of nicotine destroys the stem cells of the nervous system and causes various neurodegenerative disorders, including premature aging. Nicotine also increases the risk of heart disease.
The use of e-cigarettes is increasing the country. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, about two lakh people in Bangladesh use e-cigarettes regularly and four lakh people have used them at least once.
