Speakers at an advocacy meeting here have stressed for united efforts
of all concerned including transport sectors leaders and workers in
turning the public transports completely free from smoking in Rangpur.
Rangpur Tobacco Control Coalition (RTCC) with the assistances s of
Association for Community Development (ACD) organised the meeting at
the conference room of Rangpur District Motor Sramik Union (RDMSU)
here on Thursday.
With Focal Person of Rangpur Tobacco Control Coalition Shushanto
Bhowmick in the chair, Vice-president of RDMSU Anil Roy attended and
addressed the meeting as the chief guest.
Assistant General Secretary of RDMSU Ronachuzzaman Mintu, RTCC member
Ahsan Habib Rabu, Community Mobiliser of ACD Rezaul Islam Raju, its
Programme Officer Hosne Ara Parveen Farzana and common members of
RDMSU were present.
Project Coordinator of ACD Ehsanul Amin Emon delivered keynote
presentation narrating consequences of smoking, indirect smoking,
smoking in public transports and other places like educational
institutions, offices, hospitals, clinics, hotels, restaurants etc.
He said every sixth adult death is being caused by tobacco in
Bangladesh where 43 per cent population, including 58 per cent adult
males, 29 per cent adult females and 13 per cent adolescents are
consuming cigarettes, bidi, smokeless or other tobacco products.
More than 57,000 people are dying annually consuming tobacco products
alone in the country and 1.2 million suffering from lung cancer,
cerebra- vascular, coronary artery, chronic obstructive pulmonary and
other tobacco-attributable diseases, he said.
Besides, the nation spends Tk 51 billion every year in treating
patients suffering from tobacco-related diseases in one of the largest
tobacco consuming country of Bangladesh where 46 million adult people
are using tobacco in various forms.
The speakers urged the transport leaders and workers for strictly
implementing the amended Tobacco Control Act 2013 to stop smoking in
public transports to save 4.20 crore people from indirect smoking and
thousands of human lives annually.
They also put emphasis on united efforts of all concerned for ensuring
strict implementation of the amended Tobacco Control Act-2013 to free
all public transports as well as other public places from smoking in
Rangpur. –BSS, Rangpur
