World No Tobacco Day 2026 was observed in districts on Sunday with a call to build a healthy, functional and tobacco-free Bangladesh with the collective participation of all and the coordinated efforts of the government.
This year's theme of the day was "Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products".
RAJBARI: On the occasion, various programmes, including a rally and discussion meeting, organised by the district administration.
The day's events began around 11:30 am with a colourful rally from the district administration office. The procession paraded main roads in the town before returning to the starting point.
A discussion meeting was later held at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner (DC)'s office.
DC Afroza Parvin presided over the event, while Civil Surgeon (CS) Dr SM Masud, Additional DC Tarif-ul Hasan, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Shahidul Islam, District Magistrate Uchhen May, Executive Magistrate Dr Ashikuzzaman, and District Education Officer Md Abdul Majid, among others, spoke at the programme.
Speakers said around 3.78 crore people in Bangladesh currently use tobacco, while tobacco-related diseases claim nearly 200,000 lives every year.
They also said the economic and environmental losses caused by tobacco use and production stood at around Tk 30,570 crore in 2017-18, which is significantly higher than the revenue earned from the sector.
Referring to global data, they noted that tobacco is cultivated on more than 4 million hectares of land across over 125 countries, mostly in low- and middle-income nations.
Citing research by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), speakers said nearly 48 per cent of Bangladesh's population are youth, making them a key target of tobacco companies.
According to World Health Organization data, at least 37 million adolescents aged 13 to 15 worldwide use tobacco regularly, with companies using various tactics to create brand addiction among young users.
Speakers stressed the need for urgent action against emerging nicotine products such as e-cigarettes to protect young people from addiction.
A CDC study cited at the event showed that individuals who become addicted to nicotine before the age of 21 are more likely to remain lifelong users.
SIRAJGANJ: To mark the Day, various programmes, including a rally and a discussion meeting were held.
The district administration organised a colourful rally from the front of the DC office on Sunday morning that paraded the main roads of the town.
After this, a discussion meeting was held at the Shaheed Shamsuddin Conference Room of the DC office. DC Md Aminul Islam was present as the chief guest at the programme. In addition, CS Dr Nurul Amin, officials of various government departments and common people were present.
