Staff Reporter : Today 4 February 2026, is World Cancer Day. To effectively tackle the growing burden of cancer in Bangladesh, research and advocacy organization, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) urged the incoming parliament to pass the recently amended Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 during its first session.
In both Bangladesh and the rest of the world, cancer ranks as one of the two leading causes of non-communicable disease (NCD) deaths. According to a 2025 study by Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), nearly half of all cancer cases (46%) were related to tobacco use (both smoking and smokeless).
As per Global Cancer Observatory, an estimated 116,598 people died of cancer in Bangladesh in 2022, while 167,256 new cancer cases were diagnosed during the same year. According to the World Health Organization, 30 to 50 percent of cancer deaths can be prevented by avoiding tobacco use.
On the occasion of World Cancer Day 2026, ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) said, “There is no alternative to passing the Tobacco Control Ordinance in the first session of the upcoming parliament to combat tobacco-related cancers.”
