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The interim government has issued an ordinance banning e-cigarettes, vapes and all other emerging tobacco products as part of a sweeping overhaul of the country’s tobacco control laws.
The Smoking and Tobacco Products Use (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, was promulgated on Wednesday by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, officials said.
In a statement, the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO) said the amendment was designed to strengthen the existing 2005 tobacco control law, protect the public from the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine, and bring various regulations under a single legal framework.
The ordinance expands the definition of tobacco products to include electronic cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches. It also allows the government to classify additional products as tobacco through official notification.
Separate definitions for nicotine and nicotine products have been introduced, while the definition of a public place has been significantly broadened, reports bdnews24.com.
Smoking and the use of any tobacco product are now prohibited in all public places and on public transport. Fines for violations have been increased from Tk 300 to a maximum of Tk 2,000.
The revised law also imposes a complete ban on tobacco advertising and promotion across print and broadcast media, online platforms and social media. It prohibits the display of tobacco packets at points of sale, the use of tobacco branding in corporate social responsibility activities, and financial sponsorship by tobacco companies of events or programmes.
The sale of tobacco products has been banned within 100 metres of schools, hospitals, clinics, playgrounds and children’s parks.
Under the ordinance, the production, import, export, storage, sale and use of e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products have been made criminal offences, punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine of up to Tk 500,000, or both.
The law also bans the production, marketing and use of bidis made from kumbhi and tendu leaves, repealing a separate 1975 ordinance that previously regulated bidi manufacturing.
Packaging rules have also been tightened, requiring tobacco products to carry colour health warnings and images covering at least 75 per cent of the packet. Products sold without standardised packaging will be prohibited.
The CAO said enforcement powers have been strengthened, including provisions for cancelling business licences, seizing goods and pursuing prosecutions under criminal law.