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to regulate emerging tobacco items.

Farida Akhter said the ordinance was placed before the council in November 2024 but was initially delayed over concerns that it might reduce revenue.

She alleged that tobacco companies approached all advisers to persuade them not to approve the ordinance or to remain silent.

“Tobacco companies use notorious tactics to lure people into addiction. They are planning to kill people.”

“What is the rationale for the government holding shares in companies that are killing people?” she asked.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum said even the chief adviser faced both written and unwritten pressure over the ordinance but remained firm.

On the proposed nicotine pouch factory, she said officials visited the site and found two sheds had already been built. “We have instructed them to remove the sheds. Without environmental clearance, the factory cannot be set up.”

She directed authorities to form a committee to draft the rules under the ordinance and finalise them within the interim government’s tenure.

Sheikh Momena Moni, additional secretary of the health ministry, said Bangladesh records 564 tobacco-related deaths daily.

While the government earns Tk 40,000 crore in tobacco revenue, tobacco consumption and production cost the country Tk 87,000 crore annually, she said.

Health Secretary Saidur Rahman and WHO Representative Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed also spoke.