Bangladesh Approves Ordinance Banning E-Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products

Key Points

• Bangladesh’s Advisory Council approved the Tobacco Control Amendment Ordinance on December 24, 2025;
• E-cigarettes, ENDS and heated tobacco products are banned from use, production and marketing;
• Nicotine pouches are now legally classified as tobacco products;
• Smoking is prohibited in all public places and public transport;
• Health warnings on tobacco packaging will cover 75% of the surface.

2Firsts, December 25, 2025 – According to a press release from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health, the Advisory Council on Wednesday approved the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025.

The approval was granted at the Council’s regular weekly meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka. The Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division has been instructed to take immediate steps to promulgate the ordinance.

Under the approved amendment, the use, production and marketing of emerging tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs), will be banned. Nicotine pouches have also been included in the legal definition of “tobacco products”.

The ordinance further prohibits smoking and the use of all forms of tobacco products in all public places and public transport. Provisions for designated smoking areas will now be subject to government directives, while the definitions and scope of public places and public transport have been expanded.

All forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are prohibited, including point-of-sale displays and online or media-based promotion. The size of mandatory health warnings on tobacco product packaging has been increased from 50% to 75% of the packet surface.

The Ministry of Health said tobacco use-related diseases cause more than 130,000 premature deaths annually in Bangladesh.

Image source: PID