March 7th, 2008 07:55

Anti-Tobacco World companies plan baning all cigarette advertisements

Anti-Tobacco companies have organized a meeting in order to stop all kinds of advertisements on tobacco and tobacco products. The meeting named ″Achievement of controlling use of tobaccos and remedies″ was organized by non-government organizations, WBB Trust, The Union and Manobik at the National Press Club yesterday.

Dr Shahadat Hossain, Deputy Secretary, moderated the meeting, Rafiqul Islam Milon, President of Manobik, Saifuddin Ahmed, Coordinator of Bangladesh Anti Tobacco Alliance, chaired the meeting.

They have required the Government to increase the amount of fine for those persons who violate the smoking ban, and to ban all advertisements of tobacco.

The first tobacco advertising bans were adopetd in Italy. Law No.165 of April 10 1962 banned advertising of tobacco products, stating that: "Advertising of any tobacco product, whether domestic of foreign, is forbidden".

But the real battle over tobacco advertising began in France with the Loi Veil in July 1976, which banned tobacco advertising on television, radio, billboards, and movies, though not in magazines nor at sport events.

The members of this meeting sated that the agricultural lands decrease and tobacco cultivations increase. In this case public health and economy are strongly affected. They consider that smoking actors in movies is also an advertisement and must be restricted too.

Television and other media have a huge impact on adolescents' health and behavior. Exposure to smoking scenes in movies increases the habitual smoking among young people. Anti-Tobacco companies vote for ″Smoke Free Movies″ (SFM).

That's why the Government should ban tobacco products, ads and smoking in movies in order to decrease cigarettes sales.

The Anti-Tobacco companies say that each country should ban all tobacco advertising in order to decrease smoking among people.

Tobacco smoking kills about 5 million each year; a figure that World Health Organization says could double to 10 million each year by 2020 if the current trends continue.