World No Tobacco Day will be observed in the country today as elsewhere around the world, aiming to make people aware of the adverse impacts of tobacco use, reports UNB. Every year, on May 31, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. According to a 2014 report of the World Health Organization (WHO), Bangladesh is one the countries across the world where cigarette price is lowest. The prices of bidi and smokeless tobacco are also lowest in Bangladesh and these tobacco products are being cheaper here day by day. About 4.6 crore people use tobacco in Bangladesh. Of them, 58 percent male use bidi and cigarettes while 29 percent women use smokeless tobacco products like jarda, gul and sada pata. About one lakh people are being killed due to tobacco related diseases in the country each year, costing 3 percent of its total GDP, says an independent study. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have issued separate messages highlighting the significance of observing the day.
On the occasion of the day, WHO and the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are calling countries to get ready for plain (standardised) packaging of tobacco products. Plain packaging is an important demand reduction measure that reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, restricts use of tobacco packaging as a form of tobacco advertising and promotion, limits misleading packaging and labelling, and increases the effectiveness of health warnings.
Plain packaging of tobacco products refers to measures that restrict or prohibit the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and product names displayed in a standard colour and font style. According to latest data, over 95,000 people die in Bangladesh each year from tobacco-related diseases, and 16 percent of all deaths among people age 30 years and above are attributable to tobacco use. There are about 1.2 million cases of tobacco-attributable illness in Bangladesh each year, while 42 per cent of youth (age 13-15) are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places  and 35 per cent of youth are exposed to secondhand smoke at home.