Bangladesh

Project and Country Background

Bangladesh has a population of 162.9 million people; 26.2 percent of the adult population smoke tobacco products and 31.7 percent use smokeless tobacco.1 An estimated 113,670 people in Bangladesh die each year from diseases caused by tobacco use.2

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes and bidis from three major cities: Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette and bidi pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From September 23 to October 2, 2013, data collectors purchased 191 unique cigarette packs and 9 unique bidi packs. Then from November 30, 2016 to January 15, 2017, data collectors visited the same three cities and purchased 233 unique cigarette packs, 4 unique bidi packs, and 84 unique smokeless tobacco (SLT) packages. 

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Bangladesh: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/bangladesh [Insert Last Updated Date].

Many forms of tobacco advertisement are banned... The only option the tobacco industry has left is to use the tobacco package to promote their products.
Dr. Nazrul Haque
BCCP Tobacco Control Programs Team Leader

Browse packs from Bangladesh

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Sept. 23 to Oct 2, 2013

[200 unique packs collected]

Text
30% of front, 30% of back

6

All labels are displayed concurrently and are intended to be replaced every 6 months

None

Warning text on the upper portion of the front and back of pack unless there’s a tax stamp on the top of the pack. Warning may not be placed where they may be concealed by tax stamp or other marking.

Nov. 30, 2016 to Jan. 15, 2017

[233 unique packs collected]

Picture and Text
50% of front, 50% of back

7

All labels are displayed concurrently and are intended to be replaced every 3 months

Some restrictions

Prohibits the concealment of health warnings by tax stamps or band rolls. Warning in the lower portion of the front and back of pack. Warning graphic to text size ratio of 6:1. Warning text in white on a black background. 

The Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Rules, 2006 also provide further guidance on tobacco control laws, to the extent that they do not contradict the provisions of the Act. The Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Rule, 2015 elaborates upon many of the provisions of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) Act, 2005, as amended by Act No. 16 of 2013. Areas covered include: location and conditions of smoking areas; the use of tobacco products in films; duties of public place and public transport owners and managers; signage in smoke free environments; and requirements of pack warnings.3

  1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, Country profile Bangladesh. (2017). Retrieved June 6, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/bgd.pdf?ua=1.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4nov.

  3. Packaging laws were retrieved from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for Bangladesh: Packaging and Labeling. (2017). Retrieved June 8, 2018

    from http://tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/Bangladesh/pl-health-warnings.