Tag: Bangladesh

Bangladesh Readies to Ban E-cigarette Imports

Bangladesh will ban the import of e-cigarettes and related products, reports bdnews24.
According to a statement issued by the cabinet division, the health services division proposed to take urgent measures to ban the import of all products tied to the electronic nicotine delivery systems or e-cigarettes “to protect public health and keep future generations safe.”
After the discussion, it was decided that e-cigarettes will be included in the list of banned products in the import policy order of the ministry of commerce.
December 16, 2024
Bangladesh Bill Would Ban Vaping Products, Bidis

Credit: Sergey Fedoskin
Shopkeepers who sell nicotine products, including vaping products and traditional cigarettes, will have to get a license, without which they will face penalties of TK50,000 ($418). The products will also be prohibited from being sold within 100 meters of schools, hospitals, clinics, sports venues and playgrounds.
The country considered the same ban last year.
A fine of Tk5,000 will be imposed on anyone selling vapes or loose combustible cigarettes. Currently, the fine for smoking or using tobacco products in public places is Tk300, but the draft ordinance proposes to increase this to Tk1,000.
With these provisions in it, the draft “Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Ordinance, 2024” is expected to be presented for approval during the Advisory Council meeting on Thursday (Oct. 24), sources familiar with the matter told TBS.
According to the draft ordinance, seen by TBS, tobacco products, including cigarettes, cannot be sold at mobile shops or by hawkers. Additionally, no sweeteners, spices, flavors, or colors will be permitted to be used in nicotine products.
Violations of this law may result in monetary fines as well as imprisonment for varying durations, with penalties doubling for repeat offences.
The government first enacted the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act in Bangladesh in 2005, with one amendment made in 2013. In 2020, the previous government initiated a revision of the Act to strengthen regulations on the use of tobacco and tobacco products.
In June 2022, the Ministry of Health published a revised draft of the law on its website for stakeholder feedback, which is now being presented to the Advisory Council as a draft ordinance.
October 23, 2024
Bangladesh Considering Ban on All Vaping Products

Bangladesh is set to ban vapes and nicotine pouches, according to Filter.
The government has been considering a vape ban since 2019 when the U.S. e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury outbreak occurred—later determined to be caused by adulterated illicit products.
The health ministry has now drafted an amendment to Bangladesh’s Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, which has been reviewed by the cabinet and must now be approved by parliament.
If the proposed ban is approved, anyone caught vaping, regardless of nicotine content, will be subject to a fine of BDT5,000 ($46). Sales, production, import, export, storage and transportation of vapes would also be banned, with penalties starting at a higher fine, three months’ incarceration or both. Larger scale activity or repeat offenses would face longer sentences.
The amendment would also ban flavors in tobacco products, increase the fine for smoking in public places and include further penalties for unlicensed tobacco sales.
Organizations like the Bangladesh Medical Association support the proposed ban, equating vaping with smoking cigarettes.
“A ban on vaping devices will have disastrous consequences for people trying to quit smoking cigarettes,” said Nafis Farhan, a member of Voice of Vapers Bangladesh. He attributed continued high smoking rates in the country to “limited availability of cessation tools, such as vapes.”
The proposed ban represents “a missed opportunity for harm reduction and a setback for public health,” according to Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.
September 6, 2023
Bangladesh Mayors Commit to Smoke-Free Future

Mayors from Bangladesh’s municipalities met for a two-day summit with national and international tobacco control experts, where they pledged to aim for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision of a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040, reports the Dhaka Tribune.
The goal of the summit was to discuss implementation of tobacco control laws and local government guidelines. The country’s tobacco control law was enacted in 2005 after ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The law was amended in 2013, introducing pictorial health warnings and including smokeless tobacco. It took over three years to put the law into practice, and during that time, the health ministry drafted an amendment banning vaping products, lifting the provision of designated smoking zones to prevent secondhand smoke and controlling point-of-sale advertising. The draft is pending Cabinet approval.
Tobacco use is not declining as expected, according to anti-tobacco activists. The latest data shows that 35.3 percent of adults ages 18 and older used tobacco in any form in 2017. Experts warn that if the trend continues, the tobacco-free goal will not be met.
“The key is to have strong local leadership in terms of policy development, policy implementation and mobilizing funds at the local level for the prevention of tobacco use and noncommunicable diseases,” said Tara Singh Bam, regional director of The Union Asia Pacific, who spoke at the summit. “Mechanisms need to be established that ensure mayors are held accountable for safeguarding the development and implementation of public health policies from the undue influence of unhealthy commodity industries.”
“We, the Ministry of Local Government, issued tobacco guidelines for all the municipalities and cities to assist them,” said Joint Secretary Jasim Uddin. “We have distributed these guidelines.” He noted that the mayors attending the summit are “very committed” to preventing tobacco-related diseases and deaths.
The guidelines direct the mayors to improve tobacco control law enforcement, build public awareness, allocate funds for tobacco control and limit the availability of tobacco products.
July 24, 2023
Bangladesh Minister Proposes Rise in E-Cig Import Duties

Bangladesh Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal proposed a significant increase in import duties on e-cigarettes and their parts in the proposed budget for the 2023–2024 fiscal year, reports the Dhaka Tribune.
The import duty on e-cigarettes will be raised from 5 percent to 25 percent, and for parts of electric cigarettes, the duty will be increased by 100 percent. Previously, there was no import duty on the parts of electric cigarettes.
The minister has also suggested a 150 percent additional duty on liquid nicotine and transdermal nicotine.
The proposed measures aim to increase import duties and make importation of e-cigarettes and related components more expensive in an effort to regulate their use and reduce their prevalence.
June 2, 2023
Bangladesh Vape Group Calls for Stakeholder Input

Credit: Ser
The Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA) called on authorities to consult with all stakeholders before making any policy decisions on vaping at a press conference held in the capital city of Dhaka on Tuesday.
The organization also called for excluding vaping and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products from the proposed amendment of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Control Act 2005 (amended in 2013), according to a press release.
BENDSTA fears that if a decision to ban vapes is taken after ignoring credible scientific evidence, it will jeopardize the Prime Minister’s vision of making the country tobacco-free by 2040.
Many former smokers who successfully quit smoking cigarettes using vaping devices might resort back to smoking traditional cigarettes again if vaping gets banned in the country.
Not only will this increase the number of smokers in the country, but the government will also lose the opportunity to balance its health and revenue agenda from an emerging sector, BENDSTA speakers said.
BENDSTA President Masud Uz Zaman criticized the country’s health authorities for not including the association as relevant stakeholders in the process of developing such a crucial policy framework.
“If any amendment is proposed regarding vaping, we are definitely an important stakeholder. It is unreasonable to not take our opinion and completely exclude us from the law-making process. Despite sending letters to the Ministry of Health repeatedly, they have refrained to sit with us to discuss the issue,” Zaman said.
Zaman stressed that these tobacco harm reduction products should be made legal and regulated sensibly to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of a tobacco-free nation.
The proposed amendments called for a total ban on vaping products.
January 18, 2023
Bangladesh Urged to Keep E-Cigarettes Legal

Delon Human (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Bangladesh must keep e-cigarettes legal if it wants to achieve its goal of becoming a tobacco-free country by 2040, according to tobacco harm reduction activists.
Speaking during a webinar organized by the Bangladesh-based Voices of Vapers and reported by The Daily Star, several experts addressed the government’s recent proposal to ban vapor products, heat-not-burn devices and other cigarette alternatives in a new amendment to the country’s tobacco control legislation.
Delon Human, president of Health Diplomats, said there is no evidence for the National Tobacco Control Cell’s statement that nicotine in vapes is more harmful than cigarettes.
“There needs to be a credible harm reduction strategy as practiced by many developed countries,” he added. “The authorities must consider regulating a safer alternative, such as vape, and make it accessible to smokers wanting to quit.”
Schumann Zaman, president of the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association, said not recognizing vape traders and vape users as stakeholders will have major consequences as many of these vapers are using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.
John Dunne, director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, said vapes should be regulated separately because vapes and cigarettes are different products.
“Vapes are far safer and a proven method of nicotine-replacement therapy [NRT]. Regulating vapes will help smokers who are trying to quit have access to vapes,” he added.
“Countries such as the U.K., France, New Zealand and Canada have successfully lowered smoking rates by using vaping as NRT. Banning vapes will lower the number of smokers trying to quit.”
September 6, 2022
Bangladesh Mulls Ban on E-Cigarettes and Pouches

Photo: sezerozger
Bangladesh’ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wants to amend the country’s tobacco act to ban e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches, reports The Business Standard. The proposal also includes new restrictions on combustible tobacco products.
Health activists have been calling for prohibition of e-cigarettes, which are not mentioned in the current legislation. The proposal would prohibit not only the consumption of vapor products, but also the production, import, export, storage, sale and transportation of e-cigarettes or their parts.
People caught vaping would face maximum fine of BDT5,000 ($53.80) under the plan, while producers and traders would risk imprisonment for a maximum of six months or a fine not exceeding BDT200,000 or both for the first time. The punishment would double each time the offence is repeated.
E-cigarettes started arriving informally in Bangladesh a few years ago and quickly became popular. As demand increased, British American Tobacco started producing and selling e-cigarettes in the market. Japan Tobacco is also reportedly preparing to market e-cigarettes in Bangladesh.
The health ministry’s proposal would also tighten restrictions on traditional tobacco products. Among other provisions, it includes a ban on flavors and an increase in the size of graphic health warnings to 90 percent of the packaging’s surface from the 50 percent required under current legislation. The draft also foresees new retail licensing requirements and limitation on where tobacco can be sold.
The health ministry has recently sent copies of the draft to stakeholders. The Directorate General of Health Services is accepting opinions on the draft until July 14.
June 28, 2022