‘Necessary steps will be taken to ban e-cigarettes’

The meeting was jointly organised by the National Tobacco Control Cell, Department of Health Services, MoHFW and Dhaka Ahsania Mission in collaboration with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) at the conference room of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The participants were gathered to disseminate the results of the study on e-cigarette use conducted on University students of Dhaka city.

The meeting was chaired by Kazi Jebunnesa Begum, additional secretary (World Health); while Lokman Hossain Mia, senior secretary of Health Services, was present as the chief guest.

Lokman Hossain Mia said, "The health ministry has already taken some steps, such as a draft roadmap to build a tobacco-free Bangladesh. Hopefully, further initiatives will be taken to finalise it soon."

"The use of an emerging tobacco product called e-cigarette is increasing day by day which is alarming. E-cigarettes are just as harmful to health as conventional cigarettes. The law does not say anything directly about controlling this harmful product. So there is room to work on it. We will take into account the recommendations to implement laws to ban e-cigarettes", he added.

Md Mukhlesur Rahman, Assistant Director of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, presented the research results at the briefing.

Saidur Rahman, additional secretary of the Department of Health Services (Development); Khorsheda Yasmin, additional secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration; and others were also present at the meeting.