Bangladesh Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2019
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2019 2019 Bangladesh Tobacco Industry Interference Index Report on Implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 Cover Design and Layout Razib Roy Acknowledgement This report is made possible with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies under the Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP). We acknowledge Mary Assunta for her technical advice in the preparation of this Index. The information from this report will form part of the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, a global survey of how public health policies are protected from the industry’s subversive efforts, and how governments have pushed back against this influence. The Tobacco Industry Interference Index was initiated by the South-East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) as a regional report and with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP), is part of a global publication of the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) at the School of Global Studies in Thammasat University. We also wish to extend our thanks to the Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Vandana Shah and Dr. Md. Shariful Alam with Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) for their support and advice. About PROGGA PROGGA started its journey in 2008 with the idea of ‘Knowledge for Progress’. It is a Bangladeshi non-profit organization for research, advocacy, and capacity building. ‘Media for Tobacco Control’ is one of the key initiatives of PROGGA. The initiative, with support from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), aims at strengthening the role of mass media in creating public awareness to protect Bangladeshi citizens from the damages of tobacco and inviting attention of the policymakers to do the needful. PROGGA also works with Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) for tobacco control advocacy. ATMA primarily aims at ensuring effective role of media in building a tobacco-free Bangladesh. There are around 350 ATMA members in different chapters covering Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rangpur in line with the central ATMA in Dhaka. PROGGA works as the secretariat of ATMA. © PROGGA Email: [email protected] Website: www.progga.org All Rights Reserved. Published in October 2019. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Summary Findings 2 Limitations of Study 5 Tobacco Industry Interference Index 1. Tobacco Industry Participation in Policy Development 7 2. Industry-Related CSR Activities 11 3. Benefits of the Tobacco Industry 12 4. Forms of Unnecessary Interactions 15 5. Transparency 19 6. Conflict of Interest 20 7. Preventive Measures 21 Recommendations 24 Reference 25 INTRODUCTION Addressing the South Asian Speakers’ was responding to the tobacco Summit on Achieving Sustainable industry’s tactics by using the FCTC Development Goals (SDGs) in January Article 5.3 Guidelines.2 e ndings of 2016, the Prime Minister of the 2018 report was based on evidences Bangladesh announced the long-term covering 2016 and 2017 and showed a goal for building a tobacco-free poor performance of the government, Bangladesh by 2040. However, three getting a score of 78. It indicates that years have passed since and due to the dierent policies and initiatives current glacial pace in the regarding tobacco control have developments of the country’s tobacco remained unprotected before the control, the goal may never realize. e interference of the industry. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is conducting a number of Bangladesh Tobacco Industry tobacco control activities along with Interference Index 2019 hardly shows implementing the obligations under any improvement in the score, total 77, the WHO FCTC, a treaty Bangladesh indicating that the country remains ratied in 2004. As a result, the vulnerable to tobacco industry tactics prevalence of tobacco use among to undermine eorts to protect public adults in the country decreased to 35.3 health. To make any real improvement percent in 2017 from 43.5 in 2009.1 of this deplorable situation, the is 18.5 percent relative reduction, as government, at rst, needs to divest its reported by GATS 2017, is investment and partnership in tobacco undoubtedly a signicant progress but business at the earliest possible. Since not enough to build a tobacco-free the government holds shares in a country by 2040. In addition, the multinational tobacco company and overall tobacco control activities of the six (06) members of the Board of country, in particular, the measures to Directors of the company were high reduce the demand for and supply of government ocials, the 2019 report tobacco, are being thwarted and observed that such extensive debilitated by the repeated interference government involvement, last year, has of the tobacco industry. facilitated widespread and unobstructed inltration of tobacco In 2018, PROGGA (Knowledge for industry in the state mechanism and Progress) released the Tobacco made the tobacco control measures Industry Interference Index, the rst easy prey to the industry interference. report of its kind in Bangladesh, with a Overall, adopting and implementing view to assessing how the government policies, in accordance with the FCTC 1 Article 5.3 will play a positive role in tobacco companies. e scoring range improving the situation. e for most questions is from 1 to 5. e preparation of Tobacco Industry lower the score is, the better Interference Index is based on a model compliance with FCTC Article 5.3 it questionnaire developed by Southeast suggests. e purpose that drives Asia Tobacco Control Alliance PROGGA to prepare and release TI (SEATCA).3 Information is collected Index report every year is to push for based on 20 questions, divided into the FCTC-compliant government seven categories and only from policies that can safeguard the tobacco publicly available sources including control measures of the country from govt. websites, reports published in the growing interference of tobacco mass media, reports and websites of industry. SUMMARY FINDINGS Industry participation in policy development Whenever the government proceeds to announcement of cottage industry formulate and implement dierent status for bidi industry. e bidi price tobacco control measures, the tobacco (non-lter) remained unchanged in the industry always nds newer ways to FY 2018-19 budget. e government, interfere. For example, the Bangladesh however, has fully implemented Bidi Owners’ Association (BBOA) met Recommendations 4.9 and 8.3 of the the Finance Minister and Commerce Article 5.3 Guidelines and no tobacco Minister and submitted its proposals industry representative was in the for the budget for the FY 2018-19 that government delegation to the FCTC included tax reduction and COP and other meetings related to it. Tobacco Industry Related CSR Activities e active engagement of government Labour and Employment, continued to ocials in tobacco industry related receive BATB’s deposit which was CSR programmes was observed which BDT 8.82 crore in 2018. BATB is contrary to the FCTC Article 5.3 representatives handed over the Guidelines. For example, Bangladesh cheque to the then State Minister for Labour Welfare Foundation Fund Labour and Employment and the event (BLWFF), a body under the Ministry of was highly publicized. 2 Benets to the Tobacco Industry e government provided several present among others. e NBR also benets to the tobacco industry to oered BATB tax relief worth more expand their business. e than BDT 2,000 crore through government endorsed the world’s scrapping a special order. On 8 June third largest tobacco company, Japan 2018, NBR issued the order discarding Tobacco International (JTI) to a previous one issued on July 1, 2017, conduct its business in Bangladesh which had imposed additional taxes through foreign direct investment on low quality international-brand (FDI) when it acquired the local cigarettes. Moreover, under the tax company Akij Group's tobacco measures included in nalized buiness for $1.47 billion. In August 2018-19 national budget, smokeless 2018, at the deal signing ceremony, the tobacco companies can now increase Executive Chairman of Bangladesh their prots by 118 per cent, compared Investment Development Authority to the prots they could have made (BIDA), the government agency under the tax measures proposed responsible for encouraging and initially in the budget. facilitating private investment, was Unnecessary Interaction with the Tobacco Industry ere were numerous occasions of Summit, where the International unnecessary interaction in 2018 Aairs Adviser to the Prime Minister between the tobacco industry and handed over the award; “Bangladesh senior government ocials. Most of Supply Chain Excellence Award” such interaction with tobacco industry, involving the Executive Chairman of particularly BATB, took place in award the Bangladesh Investment giving ceremonies, such as the “Most Development Authority (BIDA) and Female-Friendly Organisation” the ICAB best presented annual reports recognition at the Women Leadership handed over by the Finance Minister. Transparency Measures In February 2018, the NBR held a Manufacturers’ Association (BCMA) closed-door meeting to decide on the and Security Printing Corporation legal implementation of the graphic Bangladesh Ltd were invited as health warning (GHW) on tobacco stakeholders whereas the Ministry of packs. Bangladesh Cigarette Health, the lead administrative 3 ministry of tobacco control, was the registration of the tobacco industry astonishingly