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POST TIME: 29 May, 2016 00:00 00 AM / LAST MODIFIED: 29 May, 2016 01:05:37 AM
Anti-tobacco meet paints grim picture
Staff Reporter

Anti-tobacco meet paints  grim picture

Around 1 lakh people are killed and 12 lakh suffer from the effects of tobacco-related diseases in Bangladesh every year. This information came up in a discussion organised yesterday ahead of World No Tobacco Day-2016, at the National Press Club. The event was organised by ADHUNIK, an anti-tobacco organisation and World Health Organisation (WHO). The participants said around 60 lakh people die due to tobacco use. If this trend continues, around 80 lakh people might die by 2030, they added. The speakers said coordinated effort must be taken to reduce the number of tobacco users. In order to reduce tobacco consumption, 77 countries have introduced pictorial health warnings. Bangladesh, too, had formulated such a policy last year, to control tobacco use, but it was not followed properly, they alleged. Amanullah Khan, UNB chairman and also ADHUNIK president, presided over the programme.