Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain said Bangladesh must give tobacco control the highest priority to tackle noncommunicable diseases, which account for about 71 percent of all deaths in the country. Speaking as chief guest at a seminar at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka on Monday afternoon, he said effective tobacco control is essential for preventing such diseases and protecting younger generations from nicotine addiction.

The minister said the government has made its highest national-budget allocation for health-sector development, but tobacco remains a major obstacle to better health. He said the tobacco control law was further amended and strengthened and passed in 2026 as part of implementing an election manifesto pledge. He also stressed more effective, coordinated and timely action in line with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Speakers said 37.8 million people use tobacco products in Bangladesh and tobacco-related diseases cause about 200,000 premature deaths annually, or roughly 546 daily. They expressed concern that e-cigarettes were not included in the amended 2026 law and called for bans on producing, importing, marketing and selling e-cigarettes and other new nicotine products, alongside swift adoption of regulations under the law.