Regulating tobacco retail outlets in Bangladesh: retailers' views and implications for tobacco control advocacy.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco products are ubiquitously available in Bangladesh. There are currently no restrictions on who can sell tobacco products and where they are allowed to be sold. The objective of this study was to explore tobacco retailers' views regarding tobacco retail licensing (TRL) in Bangladesh. METHODS: A two-stage cluster sampling procedure was used to collect data from a representative sample of 472 tobacco retailers (97% response rate) in Dhaka city in 2018 through face-to-face interviews using a semistructured questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, X2 tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: The majority (79%) of the retailers reported that they would support TRL, and 68% were interested in applying for TRL if adopted. Support for TRL was higher among those with a university degree (OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.8 to 5.3) and among those with knowledge about existing tobacco control regulations (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.8). Furthermore, support for TRL was significantly higher among those who believed that it would restrict tobacco retailing locations (AOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.0) and prevent tobacco sales to minors (AOR 3.5, 95% CI 2.2 to 5.5). CONCLUSION: This sample of tobacco retailers in Bangladesh supported TRL. TRL advocacy efforts could draw on this support.

Puff or pass: do social media and social interactions influence smoking behaviour of university students? A cross-sectional mixed methods study from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the odds of being a smoker differ based on social media use and social interactions among urban university students in Bangladesh. HYPOTHESIS: Social media use and social interactions influence the smoking behaviour of Bangladeshi university students, particularly in starting and maintaining cigarette smoking. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study using mixed methods on 600 student smokers and non-smokers recruited from two public and two private universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a lower middle-income country with limited resources. Exclusion criteria were those who did not use any form of social media and PhD students. RESULTS: Odds of smoking were significantly higher for those who socialised more than 4 hours/day (p<0.05; OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.12 to 2.75) and typically at night (p<0.05; OR 2.80; 95% CI 1.95 to 4.00). Odds of smoking were also higher for those who liked (p<0.05; OR 4.85; 95% CI 3.32 to 7.11), shared (p<0.05; OR 20.50; 95% CI 13.02 to 32.26) and followed (p<0.05; OR 2.88; 95% CI 1.36 to 6.11) tobacco-related content on social media. Qualitative analysis resulted in emergent themes of smokers imitating tobacco-related photos or videos seen on social media and peers as an influence for smoking initiation. CONCLUSION: This study suggests social media and social interactions may influence smoking behaviour in university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Future research should continue to investigate the roles social media and social interaction have on smoking in order to explore social media-based smoking cessation interventions or dissemination of smoking health hazards through social media.