Anti-smoking advocates have called for the immediate cancellation of the authorization granted for the establishment of a nicotine pouch factory in Bangladesh. Their demand was voiced through a human chain demonstration held in front of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) office located in Agargaon, Dhaka. A memorandum was submitted to the BEZA executive chairman, urging the withdrawal of the approval. The advocates emphasized the need for a strict prohibition on future authorizations for similar products and urged BEZA to actively contribute to making Bangladesh a tobacco-free nation.
The demonstration, dubbed “Cancel the Approval for the Disease-Causing ‘Nicotine Pouch’ Factory,” was jointly orchestrated by the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) and Bangladesh Tobacco Control Advocates (BTCA), as mentioned in a press release. Earlier in April this year, BEZA had given the green light to Philip Morris Bangladesh Limited to establish a domestically focused nicotine pouch factory within the Meghna Industrial Economic Zone in Narayanganj.
The protestors argued that this approval not only defies a court order but also runs counter to the government’s public health protection policies. They characterized nicotine pouches as a deceptive tool created by tobacco companies, designed to induce addiction when placed in the mouth, particularly targeting young individuals. In the interest of public health, the campaigners demanded the immediate annulment of Philip Morris’s approval to manufacture nicotine pouches.