Severe Tobacco Control Law Soon

The government plans to amend the tobacco control law to ban smoking in public places, the health and family planning minister has told parliament. Responding to a supplementary query from Nazma Akther MP during the question-answer session on Thursday, A F M Ruhul Haque said the law would be amended to impose fines for smoking at restricted places. The minister said printing of health warning messages with 50 percent photo coverage on cigarette and tobacco packets would also be made compulsory in the amended law. The other plans include making workplaces, including all government institutions, hotels, restaurants and salons, smoking-free zones, taking legal action against tobacco growers, and putting a strong market policy in place against publicity by companies, logos and brand colours through exhibition of films and advertisement. In response to another query from Jatiya Party MP Hafiz Uddin Ahmed of Thakurgaon-3, the health minister said currently there are 6,085 vacant posts of physicians in the government hospitals across the country. Answering a question from reserved women seat MP Sadhona Halder, Ruhul said the number of registered pharmaceutical companies in the country is 831, of which 262 are allopathic, 268 unani, 79 homeopathic and 20 herbal. He said the licences of two pharmaceutical companies were cancelled permanently and that of 15 others temporarily on charges of manufacturing low-quality drugs. Besides, the government cancelled registration of 46 companies. Responding to Chittagong-10 constituency MP M Abdul Latif's query, the minister said the revised national drug policy would be formulated soon. Ruhul, replying to a query from Narayanganj-2 constituency MP Nazrul Islam Babu, said the extension and modernisation of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital would be done by June 2013.