In a press conference the association leaders said that the ban on vaping products will work against the Prime Minister’s vision of creating a tobacco-free Bangladesh by 2040. 

The organization put three-point demands to the health ministry, including recognizing vaping as a “quitting tool” and separating it from tobacco products like cigarettes.

BENDSTA organized the press conference on Monday in Dhaka to provide its opinion on the proposed vaping-related clauses in the Smoking and Usage of Tobacco Products (Control) Act. 

The draft amendments include a new ban on e-cigarettes or vapes, under which production, import, export, storage, sale and transportation of e-cigarettes or their parts will be prohibited. 

BENDSTA president Masud UZZaman said, “Banning vaping products will harm Bangladesh’s goal of becoming a tobacco-free country by 2040. He said the proposal to ban vaping is a move that will take Bangladesh backwards and shows that the policymakers are not considering multiple credible evidence for vaping’s effectiveness in reducing cigarette smoking.” 

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