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Amend 'Tobacco Control Law' to reduce drug addiction

. Staff Reporter
Speakers at a sit-in-programme have underlined the need for amending of the 'Tobacco Control Law' to reduce the incidence of drug addiction and consumption of tobacco among the younger generation people in the country.  
Controlling drug addiction in the young generation is impossible unless consumption of cigarette and other tobacco-products is reduced. It is treated as the initial tool of addiction, they said calling upon the government to amend the law to keep the young generation away from addiction. 
Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA), WBB Trust, Protyasha Anti-Drugs Club, Serac Bangladesh and some other anti-tobacco platforms jointly organised the protest programme in front of National Press Club on Sunday.
Office secretary of BATA Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam, Helal Ahmed of Protyasha, Aminul Islam Bakul of AID, SM Saikot of Serac Bangladesh, Syeda Anonna Rahman of WBB Trust, Md Khalilullah of NATAB, Enam Ahmed of Jalalabad Foundation and Masud Rana of Manobik addressed the function, among others.
The speakers in the event felt, those is a lack of stern measure to control the use of tobacco although many efforts have been taken so far for drugs control. The authorities should take effective steps to reduce tobacco consumption side by side taking measurers against drugs. Otherwise drug addiction will not be controlled, they added. 
Calling upon the government to amend the 'Tobacco Control Law', they said due to many loopholes in the law, tobacco companies are getting opportunities to spread the use of tobacco and campaigning in many audio-visual ways among the young generation to use more tobacco- products.
The anti-tobacco activists demanded urgent initiative from the government to stop campaigning of the tobacco companies.
Consumption of tobacco is a silent killer and the government has to take initiative to save the people from the silent killing they said, Amendment to tobacco law with inclusion of pictorial display of health hazards from use of tobacco goods and health warning is needed in this respect, they added.