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BATA's 5th Anniversary Celebration, 2004
At the 5th Anniversary Celebration, BATA presented an award to Health and Family Planning Minister Dr. Khandaker Musharraf Hossain for his outstanding achievements in tobacco control. Dr. Hossain has played an invaluable role in supporting tobacco control in Bangladesh. He chaired the World Health Assembly when the Framework Convention on Tobacco control (FCTC) was approved, and has been a consistently strong force in pushing for Bangladesh to sign and ratify the FCTC and to pass the tobacco control bill.
At the celebration, Dr. Hossain announced--quite accurately--that the draft tobacco control law recently approved by the Cabinet would soon be passed in Parliament. The 5th anniversary of the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) is experiencing success with the likely passage of the law, he said.
Dr. Hossain explained that the law will ban all tobacco advertising, enlarge warnings on cigarette packs to cover 30% of the total surface, and make public places smoke-free. He explained that trains would have separate carriages for smokers and non-smokers, and some provision for smokers would be included in other areas. The law would also give support to farmers changing from tobacco to other crops.
The 5th anniversary celebration was held at the Atomic Energy Commission Auditorium.
Representative of the World Health Organization in Bangladesh, Suniti Acharya, stated that tobacco control law is needed to stop the tobacco epidemic which is currently killing millions of people in the world. She congratulated BATA on its many achievements in tobacco control and its tireless efforts since its very founding to create strong tobacco control policy and to educate the public about the harms of tobacco.
BATA Coordinator Saifuddin Ahmed explained that BATA was founded on 9 October 1999. He thanked the Minister for his support to tobacco control work.
Special guests at the celebration were Suniti Acharya and Health Secretary A.F.M. Sarwar Kamal. Consumers' Association of Bangladesh General Secretary Kazi Faruq presided. Saifuddin Ahmed gave the opening address. Hunger Free World Country Director Ataur Rahman Miton was the announcer.
