Investment and getting back the reward: training different government agencies to implement the tobacco control law in Bangladesh
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1
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh, National Tobacco Control Cell, Bangladesh
2
The Union South-East Asia, Tobacco Control, Bangladesh
3
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Tob. Induc. Dis. 2018;16(Suppl 1):A657
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ABSTRACT
Background and challenges to implementation:
Tobacco leads to unrelenting detrimental effects
on health. To protect the public Health, Bangladesh government has directed all officers
who have the magistracy power to conduct mobile court on different laws
frequently at all levels. For last few years, mobile court drive was proved as a
very powerful tool to implement the tobacco control law. So, it was a dire obligation
to sensitize the agencies on tobacco control law who are involved in
implementation of law.
Intervention or response:
National Tobacco Control Cell has conducted training
for the Executive Magistrates, Senior Health Education Officers, Sanitary
Inspectors, Industry Inspectors, Police Officers, Ansar Officer, Civil Defense
Officers and other authorized officers since 2012 in different batches
throughout the year and trained 443 personnel of above mentioned law enforcing
agencies. Then their initiatives were monitored through collecting report from
concerned offices. It was a great challenge to ensure their participation from across
the country, but made possible by the kind endeavor of the stakeholder
Ministries.
Results and lessons learnt:
Following the training, those officers conducted
remarkable amount of mobile courts in different public places and public
transports and made exemplary penalties. For instance, during January to
September 2015, 816 mobile courts were conducted and penalized 2,053 persons and
80 stores and companies and collected an amount of BD Taka 548,005 as fine for
violating tobacco control law. It has received tremendous support from peoples
from all walks of life and huge media coverage. Such action made people law
abiding.
Conclusions and key recommendations:
Such investment did not go in vain and found
very fruitful. It gave an important message to the decision makers to continue
more novel approaches for curbing the tobacco use.