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Speakers at a seminar in Dhaka have said that it is essential to formulate an effective and practical harm reduction policy for tobacco.

They made the remark at the seminar titled Policy for Progress: Towards Harm Reduction 2.0, which was jointly organised by the Policy Exchange Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Harm Reduction Foundation, said a press release on Wednesday.

In the seminar, Delon Human, former secretary-general of the World Medical Association, said that New Zealand successfully reduced smoking by adopting evidence-based and scientific strategies.

‘By officially recognising alternatives like vaping, they provided smokers with a realistic path to quitting. As a result, within just a few years, the country’s smoking rate dropped by nearly 50 per cent.’

Citing data from a recently published research report titled Tale of Two Nations: Bangladesh vs New Zealand, Human noted that in 2015, the adult smoking rate in New Zealand was 13.3pc, which had now decreased to 6.9pc.

‘In contrast, Bangladesh’s smoking rate among adults has only declined from 23pc to 17pc over the same period. The key reason for this difference is that New Zealand has a harm reduction policy integrated into the system– Bangladesh does not,’ he noted.

Md Shariful Islam Dulu, founder trustee and chairman of the Bangladesh Harm Reduction Foundation, and co-author of Tale of Two Nations, stated that New Zealand’s success in reducing smoking rates lied in its pragmatic approach and inclusion of harm reduction strategies in tobacco control.

‘By formally endorsing alternatives like vaping, the country has developed effective policies to help smokers quit. On the other hand, despite scientific evidence, Bangladesh does not practice harm reduction strategies,’ he said. 

‘Instead, impractical restrictions like the recent import ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems is complicating the situation further by paving way for illicit trade, resulting into the government losing revenue and consumers being deprived of an alternative choice,’ he added.

Joining the seminar virtually, Timothy Andrews, director of Consumer Issues, THOLOS Foundation, stressed the importance of proper regulation of alternative tobacco products and adopting relevant policies.

He stated that bans and harsh restrictions were not effective solutions for tobacco control – something that had been repeatedly proven in many countries such as Brazil.

He also cited Sweden’s experience, noting that over the past three decades, many people in the country had switched from smoking to using snus, a smokeless oral tobacco product.

Since snus is less harmful than cigarettes and relatively affordable, Sweden has also imposed lower taxes on it. As a result, the rates of smoking-related deaths and illnesses in Sweden have significantly decreased, he mentioned.

Schumann Zaman, president of the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association, stated that although vaping was widely accepted as an effective alternative to smoking in many countries, its import was banned in Bangladesh.

‘Despite this, smugglers continue to bring vapes into the country illegally, and these products are being sold across Dhaka and other regions. This not only causes a significant loss of government revenue but also prevents quality control due to the lack of regulation,’ he said.

Therefore, instead of allowing the illicit market to expand, a policy should be introduced to allow legal import and sale of vapes. This could help reduce smoking rates in Bangladesh as well and also support the livelihoods of many involved.

In the closing remarks, Hasnat Alam, economist and senior manager of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, summarised the key recommendations emerging from the seminar.

‘It is essential to adopt harm reduction strategies and formulate a separate comprehensive policy addressing this issue, rather than banning THR products, which have adverse effects on market and quality control,’ he said, adding that such a policy could play a vital role in transitioning to less harmful products and ultimately reduce the number of adult smokers and the associated health risks.