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viernes, 13 de febrero de 2015

Bangladesh worse than Pakistan in tobacco control

bdnews24.com – 11 de Febrero de 2015 – Bangladesh

Authorities in Bangladesh have been struggling for the past 22 months to introduce a similar warning.

Pakistan’s health ministry on Wednesday said their warning would cover 85 percent of the cigarette pack on both sides from the current 40 percent.

The measure will make Pakistan only the third country in the world after Nepal and India to have enhanced pictorial health warning to 85 percent.

“If Pakistan can, why can’t we?” asked Taifur Rahman, Bangladesh coordinator of the US-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

He was one of the members of the committee that drafted the tobacco control law and its implementation rules.

The amended law was passed nearly two years ago in April 2013 with a provision that tobacco companies must print pictorial health warning covering 50 percent on both sides.

Pictorial warning on tobacco packs is regarded as the most effective means of communication with tobacco users.

Researches show a smoker looks at this picture at an average of 7,000 times a year.

Moreover, those who intend to start smoking are discouraged by the warning while it encourages many to quit the habit.

But Bangladesh, a country where more than 45 percent people smoke, could not put the provision into practice as the rules needed for implementation have not been finalized yet.

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