War against smoking
The war against cigarette may be heating up, but a victory for all those out to rid this planet of this addiction is not going to come easily. A strong and determined tobacco industry is in no mood to give up the fight.
The World Health Organisation says in a report that “Philip Morris and others are engaged in systematic efforts to undermine and subvert its campaign. The attempted subversion has been elaborate, well-financed, sophisticated and usually invisible.'' However, the WHO, in a show of amazing grit and vigour, plans to cripple the offending trade by using the report as a weapon to hammer out the first international treaty to curb this menace. A global ban on cigarette advertising is also coming.
In Bangladesh, there are no ready statistics, but even a casual survey will reveal a rising sale of tobacco. High schools and colleges have already turned into fertile grounds for cigarette companies. Some of the government and private institutions have imposed a ban on smoking in public places, but no meaningful implementation is possible without sustained education. For a start, how about a boycott by film stars and sportsmen, whose power to sway attitudes is phenomenal. They can tell their fans that puffing is no longer stylish. On the contrary, it is lethal.
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