Lifting ban on vaping is not the reform Bangladesh needs

Bangladesh had the opportunity to set a good example by banning the production and sale of e-cigarettes through the Smoking and Tobacco Products Use (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. But the government’s plan to possibly amend the anti-tobacco ordinance, withdrawing the ban on the production and sale of e-cigarettes, raises serious public health concerns.

To understand why this matters, one must first consider the policy landscape that existed before the ordinance. E-cigarettes operate in a legal grey zone. Stores and online marketplaces selling vapes functioned with little oversight, and enforcement agencies had no clear mandate to intervene. Over the past decade, use of these products has been increasing, particularly among teenagers and young adults. Currently, e-cigarettes are easily available on online pages and marketplaces, which is alarming to begin with. So, there is a chance that legitimising sales will only increase the number of sellers and encourage more people to use tobacco products. Vaping is still socially taboo in Bangladesh, which will likely erode if the government lifts the ban and legitimises the buying and selling of e-cigarettes.

Lifting the ban would also signal a troubling inconsistency in Bangladesh’s broader public health commitments. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) during the previous tenure of the current government. Even in the BNP’s election manifesto, tobacco control was explicitly pledged as a health priority to prevent non-communicable diseases arising from tobacco consumption. Therefore, it is expected that, with its renewed vision and outlook, the party would take a stronger stance against all forms of tobacco consumption and protect children and youth who are particularly susceptible to the profit motives of tobacco firms.

Proponents of lifting the ban tend to rely on a familiar and recycled set of arguments. They claim that prohibition will fuel illicit trade, that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional tobacco, and that the industry contributes to employment and revenue generation. However, how substantiated are these claims, really?

The argument that banning e-cigarettes will significantly expand illicit trade is not strongly supported by evidence. A similar narrative has been deployed by tobacco lobbies for decades, most often to resist tax hikes on conventional cigarettes. There is limited empirical evidence, either globally or in Bangladesh, to suggest that bans on tobacco products lead to a sustained increase in illicit trade. Rather, this claim both overstates the risks of illicit trade and underestimates the capacity of regulatory institutions to respond effectively.

The claim that e-cigarettes are safer is even more contentious. E-cigarettes are often portrayed as “safer” than conventional tobacco and, therefore, the lesser evil. This framing is deliberately misleading; safer than something harmful is not the same as safe. These products are relatively new, invented in the early 2000s, and long-term evidence remains limited. However, emerging research is increasingly raising concerns. Researchers from the University of New South Wales, in a March 2026 study, analysed evidence from animal studies, human case reports, and laboratory research published between 2017 and 2025. Their findings pointed to credible risks of lung and oral cancers associated with nicotine e-cigarettes.

The employment argument is equally unconvincing. Framing tobacco-linked industries as drivers of job creation overlooks the substantial economic burden they impose. Bangladesh does not need to depend on harmful industries to generate employment. With the right investment climate and targeted industrial policy, the private sector is more than capable of generating employment without the country becoming dependent on an industry whose core product causes harm.

Bangladesh’s public health system has historically leaned more towards reacting to crises than preventing them. The consequences of this approach are already visible. A 2024 study by Economics for Health at Johns Hopkins University and the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka estimates that the total economic burden of tobacco use in Bangladesh stands at Tk 87,544 crore, equivalent to 1.58 percent of GDP. Tobacco use was responsible for nearly 126,000 deaths in 2018, a figure that has since risen to approximately 161,000 annually, according to the National Heart Foundation.

Lifting the ban is not a neutral administrative act. It sends a signal to young people, to the market, and to the public that vaping is acceptable and even carries tacit government endorsement. This signal will do more to normalise e-cigarette use among the youth than any advertising campaign. The government is supposed to be the guardian of its citizens’ well-being, particularly for those too young or not informed to fully understand the risks involved. Sending the opposite message, in exchange for tax revenue and industry goodwill, is not a trade worth making.

We are already paying the price for decades of insufficient tobacco regulation. Choosing to repeat that mistake with a new product category, before the damage is fully visible, would be a profound failure of governance. Maintaining and enforcing the ban on e-cigarettes would be a clear affirmation of the country’s commitment to protecting its citizens, particularly its youth. The alternative is a gamble Bangladesh cannot afford.

Mohammad Ihtesham Hassan is senior research associate at the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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