The Department of Primary Education has included a condition in the recruitment of assistant teachers for government primary schools stating that candidates who smoke or consume any addictive substances will not be eligible to apply. This condition was formally announced in a notification signed by the Director General on Wednesday, a press release said.
The National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB) has welcomed this decision. In a statement issued today (6 November 2025), NHFB President Professor Dr. Khandakar Abdul Awal Rizvi said: Declaring candidates who smoke or consume addictive substances ineligible for teaching positions is a historic milestone for public health. Smoking drives young people toward nicotine addiction. Nicotine hampers the brain development of adolescents and has severe long-term physical and mental health consequences.
He further praised the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education’s initiative as a “far-sighted and courageous step” for the future generation.
Earlier, on 22 October, at a seminar organized by the National Heart Foundation, Professor Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, Advisor to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, stated that Measures will be taken to make our schools tobacco-free. All forms of tobacco, including smoking, chewing tobacco, and jorda, are harmful. Teacher training will include tobacco awareness so that educators can implement it in classrooms.
He also emphasized the need to recognize tobacco as an ‘addictive substance’.
The National Heart Foundation congratulated the Ministry’s Advisor and all involved for including this condition in the recruitment notification.
Professor Dr. Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital & Research Institute, added that children learn from adults; if teachers smoke, it negatively influences students’ behavior. Therefore, including this requirement in recruitment notifications is both timely and appropriate.
According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (2013), 9.2% of boys and 2.8% of girls aged 13–15 in Bangladesh smoke, while 6.2% of boys and 2.9% of girls use smokeless tobacco. Currently, 35.3% of the population uses some form of tobacco, resulting in more than 161,000 deaths annually and economic losses of nearly BDT 30,000 crore each year.
The press release also outlined six policy recommendations aligned with the FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control): Ban designated smoking areas in all public spaces and public transport; Prohibit the display of tobacco products at points of sale; End corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of tobacco companies; Implement effective measures to regulate e-cigarettes for the protection of children and adolescents; Ban retail and loose sale of tobacco products; and Increase pictorial health warnings on tobacco products from 50% to 90%.
NHFB also called for the rapid approval of the proposed amendments to the Tobacco Control Act by the Advisory Council.
