In June 1999 advertising for Voyage of Discovery, a huge multinational promotional campaign for BAT’s John Player Gold Leaf cigarettes, began to appear. The campaign consisted of a yacht sailing to 17 countries in 170 days, with the final destination being Chittagong, a port city in Bangladesh.
In the months that followed, more and more groups got together to discuss what to do about the Voyage, and possible collaboration in other areas of tobacco control. Outrage at the advertising campaign was universal, perhaps matched only by a sense of impotence in dealing with the multinational which in 1996 bought the controlling share of the former Bangladesh monopoly, Bangladesh Tobacco Company, and is now the biggest taxpayer in Bangladesh.
As the months progressed and Voyage ads on billboards, in newspapers, and on tobacco sales cases multiplied, about 15 organizations came together to protest this Voyage in search of new cigarette addicts. With this surge of interest came a name: the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance, or BATA. The Alliance consists of an informal alliance of health, anti-drug, tobacco control, and women’s groups, including the Bangladesh Cancer Society, the National Anti-Drug Federation of NGOs, the Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh, and the best-known tobacco control organization in Bangladesh, ADHUNIK.
On the 23rd of October, BATA held a press conference denouncing Voyage for what it was: an attempt to find customers in poor countries to replace those who are giving up smoking in the wealthy ones. (Bangladesh, as one of the 20 poorest countries in the world, seems a particularly inappropriate target for the predatory tactics of BAT. The price at the time of Gold Leaf regular was 47 taka, or about one US dollar. The average per capita income for Bangladesh is only U$230.)
Things heated up when Bhorer Kagoj, the only national newspaper that voluntarily refuses to publish tobacco ads, convened a roundtable on the 13th of November. Tactics to counter Voyage were discussed, and Tania Amir, a barrister working pro bono on the issue, suggested filing a writ petition to prevent Voyage from docking in Chittagong. While she did not expect the petition to be successful, she explained that we could learn why they are allowed to land, and test the opinion of the High Court on tobacco advertising. (Bangladesh had a presidential decree banning advertising in 1990, but the Parliament never turned it into law, so it remained frozen and unused.)
Voyage landed in Chittagong on the 21st, among protests and “Sinking Boat” posters, and the writ petition was filed on the 22nd—delayed due to anti-government strikes (hartal). BAT held an event celebrating the arrival of Voyage, at which the Mayor of Chittagong, among others, welcomed it to Bangladesh, explaining that while smoking is bad for health, he wished to support the economy. However, ticket sales for concerts and other events were continually postponed, as BAT was aware that the events might not be allowed.
The High Court responded favorably to the petition, and banned all further promotional activities around Voyage, declaring it illegal based on the 1990 law, though unfortunately, the law did not seem to extend to other forms of tobacco advertising. As a result of the decision, the concerts and other events planned around Voyage were canceled, as were the newspaper ads that had been appearing daily in the newspapers. The boat left quietly a few days later.
The victory was by no means an unmixed one. The billboards and display cases remain up. Bangladesh Television (BTV), which does not otherwise show tobacco advertisements—tobacco ads being banned on electronic media—repeatedly aired ads for Voyage. And the victory may have generated a bit of rancour against our movement, as some youth in Chittagong expressed their disappointment at the concerts being canceled.
But the fight was not over. Tania Amir appeared in court again and again, along with the barrister representing ADHUNIK. On the 7th of February, in response to writs filed by BATA and ADHUNIK, the High Court reiterated that Voyage was illegal, and further declared that the Government of Bangladesh should ban the production and trade of tobacco. Although such a law would clearly be unfeasible, the High Court ruling did contain many feasible measures which BATA intends to pursue, starting with making the warnings on packs and billboards sufficiently large that people can actually see them; then banning advertising and banning smoking in public places.
BATA’s work has just begun. The Alliance plans to expand, once it becomes a formal body, and recruit many other organizations. A new wing to address women and tobacco has been created to address issues related to the health and economic effects of active and passive tobacco use. BATA is working on drafting model legislation for Bangladesh, in response to the High Court’s decision. And BATA is planning a series of events around the country throughout the month of May, to educate and inform the public about the dangers of tobacco and about industry practices, so that the public will support the growing anti-tobacco movement. In a country where 80% of the population is Muslim, given that tobacco is considered haram, BATA anticipates strong public support for its work.
While the Alliance gains from the years of tobacco control experience of some of the larger NGOs, the involvement of a range of groups, bringing in their own experience, strengths, and contacts, has been critical to our success thus far.
Bangladesh still has a long ways to go to declare any genuine victory against BAT and tobacco in general. However, it has made significant strides in the last several months. Getting a strong statement from the High Court was a significant victory, and so is the establishment of an active alliance against tobacco, so that rather than have scattered groups work on tobacco control, we can now say that a tobacco control movement is active in Bangladesh.