BFSA declares all offices 100pc tobacco- and smoke-free

 
All offices of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) have been declared 100 per cent tobacco- and smoke-free to protect employees and visitors from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
The authority will conduct its activities in line with national tobacco control guidelines to maintain a smoke-free environment across all its offices.

The announcement was made by Md Shafiqul Islam, chairman (additional secretary) of the BFSA, as the chief guest at an event titled “Declaration of All Offices of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority as 100% Tobacco- and Smoke-Free” held at the authority’s headquarters in Dhaka on Monday. The event was jointly organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) and the BFSA, says a press release.  He said the decision was taken to protect officers, employees and service seekers visiting the authority from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Presenting the keynote paper, Md Shariful Islam, coordinator of the Tobacco Control Project at Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said tobacco smoke contains around 7,000 chemicals, about 250 of which are harmful to human health and can cause serious diseases and death.

He said tobacco use claims around 200,000 lives in Bangladesh every year. Citing the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), he said 42.7 per cent of non-smoking adults in enclosed workplaces and 21.6 per cent in government offices are exposed to secondhand smoke. They warned that delays in finalising the rules under the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2026, could hamper the effective implementation of public health protection measures incorporated into the amended law. The discussion was moderated by Ferdous Arafat, legal officer of the BFSA.

Among those present were Anwarul Islam Sarker, member of the BFSA; Kawsarul Islam Sikder, additional director of the authority; Dr Naila Parvin, assistant director of the Health and Nutrition Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission; members of the Ahsania Mission Youth Forum for Health and Wellbeing; and senior officials from the relevant organisations.