Grisly warnings on cigarette packs shock Bangladeshis

Dhaka, May 4: Rickshaw puller Kawsar Islam was a chain smoker. But once the health risks from smoking became clear to him, he drastically cut down the number of cigarettes he smoked. He is now seriously planning to kick his addiction for good. The reason? The recently introduced grisly images on both sides of cigarettes packets.

Islam, 29, has been smoking for 12-13 years. Like Islam, many in Bangladesh’s capital are now actively contemplating quitting smoking permanently.

“I’ve been smoking since around 1972 or 1973,” said an official while enjoying a puff at a roadside tea stall in Dhaka. The official said that despite knowing about the harmful effects of smoking on the body, smoking is a habit hard to quit. But he is also now committed to stop smoking like the rickshaw puller and said he was smoking far less, day by day.

There are many like them trying to quit smoking permanently owing to the grisly images on both sides of cigarettes packets. “I’m really appalled to see the gruesome images,” said Islam, who also has a chewing tobacco habit.(IANS)