DHAKA, June 19 (V7N) – Speakers at a recent workshop in Bangladesh have emphasized the critical role of young people in ensuring the effective implementation of the country's existing Tobacco Control Law. They also called for an outright ban on all Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities by tobacco companies within university premises, asserting that university administrations should actively support such a prohibition.

The workshop, titled "Youth's Role in Public Health Protection and Strengthening the Tobacco Control Law," was held today at an auditorium of Jahangirnagar University (JU) as part of broader efforts to achieve a tobacco-free Bangladesh.

Dr. Md. Sakhawat Hossain, Chairman and Associate Professor of the Department of Public Health and Informatics at JU, delivered the welcome speech. Special guests included Professor AKM Rashidul Islam, Proctor of JU, and Professor Dr. Md. Monowar Hossain. Dr. Silvana Ishrat, Advocacy Coordinator of the Tobacco Control Project at DORP, presented the keynote paper.

Professor Rashidul Islam specifically urged members of the JU Anti-Tobacco Youth Club to immediately lobby the university administration to declare all administrative, academic, and residential buildings on campus 100% smoke-free.

Professor Monowar Hossain highlighted that youth are a primary target for tobacco companies, which employ various "deceptive strategies" to lure them. "These CSR initiatives are nothing but part of their promotional tactics," he stated. "We must raise our voices against these ploys from our respective positions—especially you, the youth."

The workshop served to educate the founding members of the JU Anti-Tobacco Youth Club on the dangers of tobacco use, the existing legal framework for tobacco control, and proposed amendments. The call to action underscores a growing movement to empower young people to become frontline advocates in Bangladesh's fight against tobacco.

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