GRAPHIC HEALTH WARNING IMPLEMENTATION
NBR to meet tomorrow on GHW decision sans Health Ministry!
STAFF REPORTER
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will arrange a meeting at its office in the capital tomorrow over the decision-making on legal implementation of the graphic health warning (GHW) on tobacco packets and reducing complexities of cigarette packet stamps and band rolls usage, according to press release.
Among the participants, the NBR has invited the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd and Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers Association (BCMA). But Ministry of Health or the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) under the ministry have not been invited to participate. Although, the health ministry is the key stakeholder in implementing the GHW, the release added.
Anti-tobacco activists fear that the step to avoid the health ministry will help applying recommendations from the tobacco companies regarding the GHW implementation on tobacco packets that will favour the tobacco company business, the release further added.
The NTCC issued a public circular notifying as mandatory to print the GHW on the upper portion of tobacco packs as per the law from September 19, 2017, while the High Court stayed the order for three months initially and then stayed it for six months more after the writ petition filed by the BCMA in November 2017. Besides, the NBR also recommended the health ministry to postpone the GHW implementation on the upper portion of tobacco packs for one more year for the benefit of the tobacco companies.
