High Court issues rule to ban use and marketing of e-cigarettes

The High Court has issued a rule asking why the use and marketing of e-cigarettes in the country should not be banned, considering them harmful to public health.

The Health Secretary, Labor Secretary, Finance Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Law Secretary, and other relevant respondents have been asked to reply to the rule within the next four weeks.

Today, Monday (June 29), a High Court bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice A F M Saiful Karim passed the order.

Lawyers Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary and Barrister Nishat Mahmud conducted the hearing in court on behalf of the writ petition.

Following the order, lawyer Nishat Mahmud stated that the World Health Organization considers e-cigarettes as narcotics. According to Bangladeshi law, there is no permission to sell or use e-cigarettes.

However, the government has taken initiatives to permit its marketing as a commodity to collect revenue. But even under the Tobacco Control Act, there is no scope for the use of e-cigarettes.

Therefore, considering it a threat to public health, we filed a writ petition to ban the use of e-cigarettes in the country. Following the hearing on that writ, the court issued the rule.

She added that around 200,000 people die every year in Bangladesh due to tobacco use. The health and environmental damages caused by tobacco use and production amount to 87,000 crore BDT annually.

This damage is more than double the revenue earned from the tobacco sector. Currently, 35.3% of the adult population uses tobacco. In this situation, if a strong tobacco control law is not enforced, the harmful impacts of tobacco on public health and the economy will continue to escalate.

On June 17, three individuals named Saifuddin Ahmed, A. K. M. Masud, and Helal filed the writ petition seeking a ban on the use and marketing of e-cigarettes.

Nine individuals, including the Health Secretary, Labor Secretary, Finance Secretary, Commerce Secretary, and Law Secretary, were made respondents in the writ.