Bangladesh is generally a poor country which has registered some positive economic growth points and a fall in poverty rate. A country with over 60 percent of the population below the poverty line, about 70 percent of tobacco used in Bangladesh is smoked as consumed as cigarettes or bidis. 20 percent of tobacco is chewed and the rest is used as hookas, pipes, cigars or snuff. Smoking cessation policies driven by the government and non-profit organizations began in the 80s. The efforts have been around informing the general public about the effects of cigarette smoking. Researchers note that health warnings on cigarette packages are very small and weak. With half of the population being illiterate much of these messages are lost.

To add to the problem of smoking cessation interventions in Bangladesh, the national radio and television stations stopped broadcasting advertisements for tobacco products in 1997. Perhaps broadcast warnings would be more effective in a country with high illiteracy rates. Statistically up to 10.5 million people are though to be nicotine addicts in Bangladesh. Much of the smoking is found in the low income bracket of society were the opportunity cost of smoking is particularly significant. It has been established through surveys that male smokers spent enough per day in 1997 to purchase enough rice to provide an additional 1402 calories for the family. The amount of money spent by women smokers could purchase about 770 calories.

The real prices of cigarettes in Bangladesh have fallen over the last ten years driving a new round of tobacco cigarette demand. This raise in demand is also as a result of a general raise in income making more people have access to cigarettes. Average daily expenditure on tobacco products according to research has increased between 1995 and 1997. Experts in Bangladesh believe that an increase in the price of tobacco products on an annual basis by some 5% will likely reduce the number of people who smoke. In fact it has been shown that taxes are an effective way of curbing smoking especially amongst the low income smokers. The cost of cigarettes is the second most popular reason for quitting smoking after the fear of the dangers of smoking.

There is no doubt that tobacco control in Bangladesh will need stronger and stringent action. Smoking in public places should be totally banned and advertising of tobacco products outlawed. The challenge of interventions is to increase access to information to plainly educate a vastly illiterate society of the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting smoking. There is need to highlight the positive side of stopping smoking and to over people the help to achieve total freedom from addiction if any smoking cessation program should succeed.

Bangladesh, the largest Delta of the world, is situated on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta. Many other Rivers and tributaries are flowing into the Bay of Bengal. The flooding results with the outburst of riverbanks of Bangladesh are common and severely affect the landscape and Bangladeshi society. Bangladesh falls under tropical monsoon climate zone and is one of the wettest in the world. Around 1,525 mm of rain is observed in a year, and areas near the hills observe around 5,080 mm. Most rains occur during the monsoon (June-September) and little in winter (November-February). This heavy rainfall twins with “Farakka Dam” on the Ganges causes the flood to occur almost every year.

The Ganges got the birth from the Himalayas and crossed India and Bangladesh towards the Bay of Bengal. India is controlling the regular flow of the Ganges. During drought they are not allowing a normal water flow of the Ganges towards Bangladesh using “Farakka Dam”. As a result the Padma (Bangladesh portion of the Ganges) losses its regular flow or current causing mud to fall on its route to lessen the depth of the Padma. Now during the rainy season with the massive increase of water level in the Ganges India must release a high volume of water through ‘Farakka Dam’ causing the Padma to overflow. Bangladesh Inundates under water. There are a lot of reasons causing world temperature going high. This influences the ice to melt and the sea level to increase. The Himalayas doing the same and causing the water level of the Ganges go higher and inundates portion of Bangladesh almost every year.

Deforestation in the Himalayas is aggravating floods in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. When the Himalayas were covered in woods the case of heavy floods was seen twice in a century in Bangladesh. With the deforestation in the Himalayas the average became once in four years. ”Bangladesh in grave danger: deforestation in Himalayas aggravating floods.” (Bangladesh Observer, 2 June 1990). ”When the Himalayas were covered in trees, Bangladesh suffered a major flood about twice a century; one every four years is now the average.” (UNEP 1992). ”The severe floods in eastern India and Bangladesh are not the result of a natural disaster, but of a ruthless exploitation of wood which has been practiced over centuries in the forests of the Himalayas.” (Basler Zeitung, 15 September 1998)