It is truly disheartening how, despite undeniable evidence of tobacco products’ adverse effects on health, we as a nation have made little to no progress with regard to curbing its devastation.

The most infuriating aspect is that while smokers continue smoking and risking their own health, it is the health of the rest of the nation that they also compromise through second-hand smoking.

In this case, it is our children who are most affected - a reality that ought to stop a nation in its tracks and take note, and yet continues to be met with indifference. 

Every day, tens of thousands of young lungs are poisoned by secondhand smoke. Research shows that over 90% of children in Dhaka carry nicotine biomarkers in their bodies, stark evidence of daily exposure. 

This is nothing short of a national disgrace.

The law is clear: Smoking in public places is prohibited, tobacco sales near schools are banned, and penalties exist for violators. Yet enforcement is invisible. Smoking continues freely in spaces where children live. 

This is not just a failure of policy; it is a failure of society. As tobacco companies continue to flourish and sell openly, it is public indifference that allows this scourge to persist. Year after year, we tolerate smoking in front of our children as they bear the worst consequences: Asthma, pneumonia, chronic cough, and lifelong vulnerability.

We cannot even begin to claim progress while our children increasingly choke on smoke. Creating a tobacco-free Bangladesh looks to be a more distant dream with every passing day, and the cost of our inaction is measured in more and more sick children - a suffering that could have been prevented.