Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies in Bangladesh: A Political Economy Analysis

Abstract

After ratifying the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control in 2004, Bangladesh enacted anti-tobacco laws, policies, and administrative measures. Evidence suggests that the progress so far has not been significant, and Bangladesh will most likely fail to meet its target to become tobacco-free by 2040. This study undertakes a national-level political economy analysis to explore the dynamics that affect the processes of required tobacco policy reforms and implementation. Based on a desk review of pertinent pieces of literature and key informant interviews, this research examines the political behavior of key individuals, institutional reform initiatives, and the government’s commitment to the tobacco control agenda. The findings indicate that the political will of becoming tobacco-free is explicitly present in key narratives. However, intra-government conflict of interests and incentives, the skewed commitment of government bodies, state-business nexus, incapacity of vital organizations, and the dubious role of key individuals and committees fail to translate this will into active implementation. The article concludes that the idea of tobacco control remains a strategic accommodation, and its implementation requires genuine commitment and wider public support. The government must confer adequate authority and resources to the national tobacco control cell and call for agencies to convene to the common of creating a tobacco-free Bangladesh.

’A contradiction between our state and the tobacco company’: conflicts of interest and institutional constraints as barriers to implementing Article 5.3 in Bangladesh

“…At an international level, improved implementation of Article 5.3 has been identified as the single highest priority for advancing tobacco control 52. The severity of the levels of industry interference outlined above, consistent with civil society monitoring and prior studies,12 13 39 53 strongly suggests that this priority is particularly acute in the case of Bangladesh. Similarly, difficulties in promoting multisectoral coordination across government departments and agencies are central to the challenge of advancing implementation of Article 5.3, both in Bangladesh and internationally 54.…”

“…Such tensions were articulated with reference to incoherence across the government’s health and economic goals. In 2016, the prime minister announced a vision of Bangladesh as being tobacco free by 2040,38 39 while the government has a long-term strategic economic development plan of becoming a high-income country by 204140 that places a strong emphasis on increasing foreign direct investment 41. The stated commitment to a tobacco-free future has not yet been accompanied by a clear tobacco control strategy for achieving it, and interviewees saw this as being ‘subordinate to economic considerations’.…”

Trade-Off Between Schooling and Labor for Children: Understanding the Determinative Factors Among Rural Households in Bangladesh

“…Well-executed semi-structured interviews can provide the objectivity and trustworthiness of qualitative studies and deliver plausible results (Kallio et al, 2016 ; Hoque and Tama, 2021 ). Considering the data needs and nature of the study, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were chosen and conducted with 15 heads of households.…”

“…Well-executed semi-structured interviews can provide the objectivity and trustworthiness of qualitative studies and deliver plausible results (Kallio et al, 2016;Hoque and Tama, 2021).…”

Tobacco industry interference to undermine the development and implementation of graphic health warnings in Bangladesh

“…To date, no peer-reviewed work has focused on the development and implementation of GHWs in Bangladesh, where recent studies illustrate how close links between the tobacco industry and some government sectors hinder tobacco control progress 19 20. For example, in 2018, a former independent director of British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB), who was a high-level government official from the Ministry of Industries, became the new chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR),21–24 a body which repeatedly gave awards to the BATB for being a top taxpayer in the country 22 25.…”