Experts on Tuesday said there were about 41.3 million tobacco users in Bangladesh and 42 million passive smokers who are both at different level of health risks.
They also said the two city corporations of Dhaka city should launch a campaign to create awareness among citizens about the health risks forusing tobacco.
They were taking part at an anti-tobacco  sensitization meeting held at the conference room of Dhaka south city corporation.
DSCC and Dhaka Ahsania Mission’s addiction management and integrated care unit jointly organised the meeting titled ‘A step towards smoke-free Dhaka city’.
While presenting the keynote paper, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ advocacy coordinator Taifur Rahman said according to a research jointly conducted by the ministry of health and World Health Organisation in 2009, in Bangladesh, per year 57,000 tobacco related deaths occurred and about 3,82,000 people were suffering from diseases and disabilities due to tobacco addiction.
The passive smokers, however, could face middle ear disease, lung cancer, lower respiratory illness, sudden infant death syndrome, nasal irritation, coronary heart disease and reproductive effect, he added.
Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh president Quazi Faruque said awareness should be built at family level against bad effects of smoking which would affect all the country gradually.
The city’s two city corporation could set an example by making their main offices smoke free, he said.
DSCC chief health officer M Abdullah Al Harun said people should exercise moral values to decrease the rate of smoking at public places.
Presiding over discussion, DSCC chief revenue officer Moniruzzaman said the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005 should be strictly regulated.
They said already the Chittagong City Corporation and Godagari Municipality in Rajshahi already formed guidelines on how to ensure smoke-free environment.
DSCC chief social welfare officer Khandaker Millatul Islam, chief town planner Mohammad Sirajul Islam, additional chief waste management officer Syed Qudratullah, and DAM’s tobacco control programme coordinator AKM Anisuzzaman, among others, were present at the meeting