Tobacco farming on farmland deepens food security crisis: experts

Tobacco use and farming are rising nationwide, replacing food crops, which is deepening the food security crisis, experts said at an event.

Without urgent amendments to the tobacco control law, both tobacco consumption and cultivation may spiral, threatening the country's future food supply, they said.

A strong tobacco control law not only effectively regulates tobacco use but also plays a role in controlling tobacco cultivation, the experts also said.

The Bureau of Economic Research (BER), Bangladesh Agricultural Journalist Forum (BAJF), and Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) jointly organised the seminar at the University of Dhaka today.

Syed Mahbubul Alam, a public health and environment policy expert, said the government acts arbitrarily when it comes to increasing food prices but hesitates and delays when it comes to raising the price and tax rates of tobacco products.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, tobacco cultivation in the country has increased more than ever before, and a multinational tobacco company has recently been permitted to produce nicotine pouches—an act that contradicts a High Court order.

He warned that this decision could have dire consequences for public health and urged the government to withdraw it.

Professor Rumana Haque of the Economics Department at the University of Dhaka said that the country must find a way out of tobacco cultivation.

The first step is to urgently amend the tobacco control law, she said.

She also emphasized the need to reinstate the 25 percent export duty on tobacco leaves and tobacco products, noting that the health costs from tobacco-related diseases are more than double the revenue earned from tobacco.

Sushanta Sinha, a special correspondent of Ekattor Television, claimed that tobacco companies are misleading the government with false information to block amendments to the tobacco control law and prevent tax increases.

He added that multinational tobacco companies are trying to portray price and tax hikes negatively by spreading stories of smuggling and showing reduced revenue to undermine the effectiveness of such measures.

Shahanuare Shaid Shahin, president of the BAJF, and Abu Khalid, general secretary of the organisation, also spoke at the event.