Bangladesh has decided it has indulged tobacco long enough.

With the promulgation of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, the government has sharply raised penalties for smoking in public places and drawn a firm regulatory line against emerging tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and vapes.

Under the new ordinance, smoking in public places and public transport will now attract a fine of up to Tk2,000, nearly seven times the Tk300 penalty set under the original 2005 law. In plain terms, the once-casual cigarette on a roadside or bus stop is no longer cheap, nor officially tolerable.

The Council of Advisers on 24 December approved the proposed ordinance at its meeting, aiming to effectively control the use of tobacco products and smoking in the country.

Promulgated on 30 December by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division of the law ministry, the ordinance explicitly bans smoking and the use of tobacco products in all public places and public transport.

The government retains the authority, however, to designate specific smoking areas in certain public spaces, an acknowledgement of the practical limits of prohibition.

Tobacco sales banned around schools, hospitals, parks

Anyone who steps outside their home in Bangladesh knows how normalised tobacco sales have become, often spilling into the immediate vicinity of schools, colleges and hospitals. The amended law takes direct aim at this reality.

The ordinance bans the sale of tobacco and tobacco products within the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, sports venues and similar facilities.

More importantly, it prohibits sales within 100 metres of schools, hospitals, clinics, playgrounds and children’s parks. This boundary can be expanded further by the government or local authorities through general or special orders.

Violators face fines of up to Tk5,000, with penalties doubling progressively for repeat offences, a legal nod to a familiar national habit of testing limits until enforcement bites.

Vape rules set after a year of debate

The most consequential and contentious shift lies in the treatment of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and other emerging tobacco products.

Exactly one year ago, the policy direction looked far less settled. On 28 December 2024, vape importers and traders submitted a memorandum to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus urging the government to reconsider its decision to ban the import of e-cigarettes.

A delegation representing Voice of Vapers, Consumer Rights of Sales Alternatives (CORSA), and the Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA) warned that including e-cigarettes and ENDS in the Ministry of Commerce’s list of prohibited import items would deprive adult smokers of what they described as a less harmful alternative to quitting smoking.

That same day, stakeholders formed a human chain at Shahbagh in the capital under the banner, “Reconsider the Import Ban on Harm Reduction Products to Prevent Smoking.” Their argument was simple and familiar – regulate, don’t ban.

The ordinance, however, has now settled the matter firmly in favour of prohibition.

It imposes a sweeping ban on the production, import, export, storage, transport, marketing, distribution, sale and advertising of ENDS, such as e-cigarettes, vapes, e-liquids, heated tobacco products and related devices, whatever name they go by.

Violators of the ban can face up to three months in prison, a fine of up to Tk2 lakh, or both, with repeat offences inviting double the penalties.

If the offender is a company, penalties become harsher with goods liable to seizure, owners or responsible officials facing up to six months’ imprisonment, fines reaching Tk5 lakh and possible cancellation of tobacco production or sales licences.

Even using e-cigarettes or vapes is punishable, with fines of up to Tk5,000 for offenders.

Nicotine pouches have also been brought under the legal definition of “tobacco products,” closing yet another regulatory loophole.

Financial arithmetic

Tobacco-related diseases claim over 130,000 lives each year in Bangladesh, including deaths from cancer, stroke, heart disease, and chronic respiratory illnesses, according to the health ministry, relevant agencies, and public health organisations. Despite years of control measures, 35.3% of adults in the country still use tobacco.

The financial arithmetic is even more unforgiving.

A recent study found that tobacco consumption and production cost Bangladesh Tk87,544 crore last year, more than double the revenue collected from tobacco companies in the 2023–24 fiscal year.

During that period, government earnings from the sector stood at around Tk40,000 crore.

Health-related costs alone amounted to Tk73,063 crore, while environmental damage, ranging from deforestation and marine ecosystem loss to greenhouse gas emissions, waste clean-up and fire hazards, added another Tk14,525 crore.

The study was conducted by the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University in collaboration with the Economics for Health programme at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In effect, the country is taxing tobacco with one hand and paying for its consequences with both.

Industry influence, still a risk

The ordinance arrives against a backdrop of persistent tobacco industry influence.

According to the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, Bangladesh scored 69 out of 100, ranking 66th among 100 countries globally, the worst performer in Asia.

Higher scores indicate greater industry interference and weaker enforcement of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Meanwhile, Nepal ranked 43rd, India 59th and Sri Lanka 45th, while Brunei topped the list with the lowest interference score.

PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), a research and advocacy group active in anti-tobacco campaigns, welcomed the ordinance while warning that vigilance must continue.

ABM Zubair, the organisation’s executive director, said, “Any delay increases the risk of interference by tobacco companies.”