April 23, 2026 (Bangladesh)—In one of its first acts, Bangladesh’s new National Parliament unanimously voted on April 10 to approve the Smoking and Tobacco Usage (Control) (Amendment) Law, 2025 to protect children and non-smokers, enable more smokers to quit and reduce the health and financial burden of tobacco-related disease that causes nearly 200,000 deaths in Bangladesh each year.
“We congratulate the newly elected government for moving swiftly to foster a healthier, more sustainable future for all Bangladeshis by approving this groundbreaking tobacco control law. We also commend the previous administration for its steadfast work to introduce the amendment last year,” said Ashish K Pandey, Director at Vital Strategies. “This major achievement was also made possible thanks to the tireless work of tobacco control advocates over many years. We stand ready to support the new government in its efforts to both implement the new law and address the emerging threats posed by electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches.”
New and strengthened measures in the amended law include:
- prohibiting tobacco advertising, promotion and display across print, electronic, digital and social media, entertainment platforms and points of sale
- banning the use of tobacco brand names, logos or trademarks under corporate social responsibility initiatives
- increasing the size of pictorial health warnings to cover at least 75% of the packet surface
- mandating standardized packaging including production dates and quit line numbers on the packs
- prohibiting the addition of harmful addictive substances in tobacco or tobacco products
- expanding smoke-free public places
- making designated smoking areas subject to government directives and
- banning the sale and use of tobacco products within 100 meters of schools, hospitals, clinics and playgrounds.
There is an urgent need to reduce tobacco use in Bangladesh. In 2023, it caused around one in four deaths among men and more than one in ten deaths among women in Bangladesh. Of the top three risk factors driving death and disability in Bangladesh, the harm caused by tobacco use increased between 2013–2023. In addition to the substantial health burden, the annual cost of illness attributable to smoking in Bangladesh is estimated to be 730.63 billion takas (approximately US$5.9 billion).
Bangladesh was one of the first countries to sign the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 and ratify it in 2004, going on to enact the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage Control Act in 2005 and amend the Act in 2013. With this new law, developed under the leadership of the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) under the Ministry of Health, Bangladesh further strengthens and aligns the Act with global best practices. Key measures on emerging tobacco and nicotine products, including vapes, heated tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems and nicotine pouches, were not included in the final bill, requiring further action to curb addiction and protect the next generation.
Gan Quan, Vital Strategies’ Senior Vice President, Tobacco Control, urged quick implementation of the law, stating: “This is a positive step, setting the stage to save millions of lives and deliver economic gains, so we must seize this moment with continued collaboration among government agencies, civil society and public health partners, and continuing public education about the harms caused by tobacco. Together, we must remain vigilant against the industry’s attempts to subvert or delay these measures and further strengthen policy to address the regulation of emerging tobacco and nicotine products. There is an urgent need to protect youth in particular from being targeted with these products.”
