Hotel and restaurant owners from the Dhaka division have called for the swift passage of the amended Tobacco Control Law to abolish smoking zones and ensure a 100% smoke-free environment. This call was made during a seminar organized by Dhaka Ahsania Mission at the office of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner on Sunday.
The owners emphasized that passing the draft law is essential to ensure a healthy environment for children, women, and the elderly in hotels and restaurants. Dhaka Divisional Commissioner, Sabirul Islam, the chief guest at the discussion, stated, “With combined efforts, implementing the Tobacco Control Law can lead to a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040.” He also advised hotel and restaurant owners to close designated smoking areas.
In his welcome speech, Mokhlesur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Health Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, highlighted the right of non-smokers to be protected from the harms of secondhand smoke. He stressed that maintaining designated smoking areas in public places cannot protect non-smokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Therefore, it is imperative to ban smoking areas in restaurants to protect public health completely.
M. Rezaul Karim Sarkar Robin, Vice President of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association and Executive Director of Ahar Bangladesh, pointed out that the current Tobacco Control Law includes restaurants as public places but allows for designated smoking areas. He urged the abolition of this provision by passing the amended Tobacco Control Law.
Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor at Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), noted the increasing prevalence of cancer and health risks due to direct and indirect smoking. Tobacco Companies continue to promote their strategy by decorating the restaurants. As a result, young people are attracted to cigarettes. He stressed the need to close smoking zones in restaurants to protect people from secondhand smoke and ensure a healthy environment in hotels and restaurants through the swift passage of the amended Tobacco Control Law.
The seminar presided over by Additional Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Mominur Rahman, featured a keynote presentation by Md. Shariful Islam, Coordinator of the Tobacco Control Project at Dhaka Ahsania Mission. In his presentation, he revealed that 38.4 million people in Bangladesh are exposed to secondhand smoke, with nearly 50% of them affected in restaurants. Despite designated smoking areas, smoke spreads to surrounding areas, subjecting non-smokers to secondhand smoke.
Hotel and restaurant owners urged the swift passage of the amended draft Tobacco Control Law to ban designated smoking areas in all public places, including restaurants, and fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of a smoke-free environment.
