Scrap the Ban, Keep the Controls: CAPHRA's Message to Bangladesh

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CAPHRA supports Bangladesh’s review of its sweeping 2025 ban on vaping and other emerging nicotine products as a chance to replace rushed prohibition with smarter, enforceable tobacco harm reduction policy.

Reports that lawmakers are considering removing the ban on the production and sale of e-cigarettes should be seen as a course correction, not a retreat from public health. CAPHRA says Bangladesh can protect young people, maintain strong tobacco controls, and still avoid the mistake of banning lower-risk alternatives for adults who smoke.

CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas said Bangladesh does not need to choose between youth protection and harm reduction. “It can do both,” Loucas said. “A ban may win headlines, but regulation saves lives.”

“Combustible cigarettes remain the most dangerous nicotine products because the greatest harm comes from burning tobacco and inhaling smoke,” Loucas said. “If safer alternatives are banned, many people who smoke will continue to do so, while others will turn to unregulated markets.”

CAPHRA says that is why the current review matters. Rather than doubling down on prohibition, Bangladesh has an opportunity to build a more credible and workable policy model based on relative risk. That would mean the toughest rules for the deadliest products, while allowing regulated access to lower-risk alternatives under strict age limits, product standards, marketing controls, and enforcement against illegal sales. “Course correction is not weakness,” Loucas said. “It is what better policy looks like.”

“Lawmakers should use this review to protect youth, strengthen tobacco control, and replace blanket prohibition with regulation that actually reduces harm,” Loucas said. “That is how Bangladesh can build a policy that works in the real world.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
N.E. Loucas, Executive Coordinator CAPHRA
neloucas@caphraorg.net

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