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Research Findings Dissemination Conference on Tobacco Control in Bangladesh held

Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) and the Institute for Global Tobacco Control based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), Baltimore, USA jointly organized a Research Findings Dissemination Conference on Tobacco Control in Bangladesh. The conference was held on January 22, 2018 at Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan-2, Dhaka.  
 
The findings of the ten research projects of the previous year’s ten research grant programs were presented in the conference through three scientific sessions. Among the 10 research projects, five were undertaken by five student researchers of different public and private universities and institutions while the other five were conducted by five experienced researchers of different public and private universities and organizations. Of the ten research projects, the important ones include:1) : Cigarette Selling to and by Minors in Bangladesh: Policy Gaps and Implementation Challenges; 2) Business of Loose Cigarettes and Losing of Tobacco Control: Current Situation in Urban Areas of Bangladesh; 3) Effectiveness of Tobacco Control Measures at Public and Private University Campuses in Bangladesh; 4) The Relationship between Tobacco Consumption Habits and Road Traffic Accidents: A Study among the Heavy Vehicle Drivers in Bangladesh; 5) Influence of Social Media and Peer Group on Smoking among Selected Public and Private University Students in Urban Dhaka and 6) Socioeconomic inequalities in secondhand smoke exposure at home in the context of mother-child pairs in Bangladesh. 
 
Some important observation of those researches are 1) The lack of effective enforcement measures to prevent minors from selling and buying tobacco is one of the greatest loopholes of the law; 2) Banning the sale of loose cigarettes is urgently required in Bangladesh to strengthen the tobacco control activities; 3) There should be mandatory tobacco control policy in all Universities of Bangladesh and measures should be taken to strengthen the monitoring system; 4) The use of tobacco products is generally acceptable among heavy vehicle drivers and who consume tobacco are more likely to be careless and they might prefer driving at high speed and engage in reckless driving, which may result more road traffic accidents; 5) University students are more likely to have the 
 
practice of smoking due to the effect of social media and peer group and 6) Socioeconomic inequalities exist in context of exposure to SHS at homes, socioeconomic disparities also exist in terms of self-reported ill health among mother-child pairs.  
 
In the opening session of the conference, national Professor Dr. Brig. (Rtd.) Abdul Malik, President, National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh chaired the inaugural program while Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP and Honorary President, Inter Parliamentary Union was present as the Chief Guest. In addition, Ms. Roxana Quader, Additional Secretary (PH and WH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Prof. Dr. M. Shamsher Ali, Founder Vice Chancellor, Bangladesh Open University and Southeast University, Dr. Bardan Jung Rana, WHO Representative a.i. to Bangladesh and Dr. Naseeb Kibria, Research Program Manager, Institute for Global Tobacco Control attended in the opening session of the conference as Guests of Honor.  
 
In the closing session, Mr. Mohammad Shahjahan, Director and CEO, BCCP was present as the chairperson. In addition, Dr. AM Parvez Rahim, Coordinator, National Tobacco Control Cell; Prof. Dr. A.H.M. Enayet Hussain, Additional Director General (Planning & Development) and Line Director, Non-Communicable Diseases Control, Directorate General of Health Services, Dr. Naseeb Kibria, Research Program Manager, Institute for Global Tobacco Control and Dr. Sohel Reza Choudhury, President, Bangladesh Tobacco Control Research Network attended as Guests of Honor in the closing session. Dr. Shahida Haque, Senior Deputy Director (Research), BCCP delivered vote of thanks.