Every six seconds a life is lost due to tobacco use globally. In Bangladesh, smoking alone claims 135,000 lives of people aged 30 years and older, each year. These deaths can be prevented.
Each Year, on the 31st of May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners observe "World No Tobacco Day", advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is "Tobacco – a threat to development”.
Tobacco use costs national economies enormously through increased health-care costs and decreased productivity. In Bangladesh, smoking alone causes a total economic loss of BDT 16,000 crore per year, equivalent to about 1.4% of annual GDP. Tobacco use worsens health inequalities and exacerbates poverty, as the poorest people using tobacco spend less on essentials such as food and education, and are forced to spend more on health care.
Tobacco control can break the cycle of poverty and promote sustainable economic growth. WHO is calling on countries to prioritize and accelerate tobacco control efforts as part of their response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. All countries benefit from successfully controlling the tobacco epidemic, above all by protecting their citizens from the harms of tobacco use and reducing its financial burden on national economies. This can be achieved by stronger enforcement of tobacco control legislation, raising the price of tobacco through taxation, and protecting tobacco control policies from interference from the tobacco industry.
I congratulate the Government of Bangladesh for committing to act in accordance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its 7th Five Year Plan. In doing so, Bangladesh can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and become tobacco-free by 2040, as envisioned by the Hon’ble Prime Minister.