BRTA Launches Initiative for Smoke-Free Public Transport in Rajshahi Division Date: 28 July 2026

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), recognizing its responsibility to ensure safe and healthy public transport, has taken a significant step by launching an initiative to make public transport in Rajshahi Division smoke-free and health-compliant. On 28 July 2026, BRTA's Rajshahi divisional office issued an official directive calling upon all transport stakeholders to take necessary measures for implementing the Smoking and Tobacco Products Use (Control) (Amended) Act 2026. This directive represents an important government commitment to protecting public health in the transport sector and establishing tobacco-free environments where millions of citizens travel daily.

The directive, sent to all relevant transport officials and to transport owner-worker organizations in Rajshahi District, emphasizes the critical importance of ensuring safe, health-compliant, and smoke-free public transport systems across motor vehicles in the region. BRTA called upon transport stakeholders to take effective and necessary measures in light of existing laws and government directives to establish such systems. The timing of this directive coincides with the implementation of the amended tobacco control legislation, reflecting government commitment to utilizing the strengthened legal framework to advance tobacco control in the transport sector.

The directive recognizes a fundamental public health imperative: smoking in public transport creates serious health risks not only for smokers but for all transport workers and passengers. Drivers, conductors, helpers, and passengers are exposed to secondhand smoke in the confined environments of buses, trucks, and other motor vehicles where air circulation is limited. This secondhand smoke exposure poses particular risks to vulnerable populations including children, elderly persons, and individuals with pre-existing respiratory conditions who may be traveling on public transport. The directive signals BRTA's understanding that creating smoke-free public transport is an essential element of protecting public health across the transport sector.

Development Activities of Society (DAS), a civil society organization that has long advocated for smoke-free public transport and tobacco control implementation, has welcomed this initiative from BRTA. DAS has been working consistently over many years to keep public transport free from tobacco smoke while simultaneously advocating for effective implementation of tobacco control laws across the transport sector. Recognizing the serious public health risks that secondhand smoke exposure poses to transport workers and passengers, DAS has maintained that smoke-free public transport is not merely a convenience but a fundamental public health necessity.

However, while welcoming the BRTA directive, DAS has emphasized that issuing directives alone is insufficient to achieve meaningful tobacco control outcomes. Effective implementation requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond simply issuing written instructions. DAS advocates for complementary measures including regular monitoring of compliance with smoke-free requirements across public transport, systematic enforcement action against those who violate tobacco control laws, and sustained awareness-raising activities among passengers to build social support for smoke-free norms. According to DAS, only through this combination of clear directives, regular monitoring, enforcement, and public awareness can the BRTA directive be translated into actual behavioral change and sustained smoke-free public transport environments.

The implementation of this directive in Rajshahi Division's public transport system is expected to constitute an important step toward creating safer, healthier, and tobacco-free environments for passengers. Rajshahi Division, serving as a major transportation hub in northwestern Bangladesh, carries thousands of passengers daily across its public transport networks. Ensuring that these transportation services operate as smoke-free zones will benefit millions of citizens who depend on public transport for their daily mobility needs. The directive sends an important message that government authorities are committed to leveraging existing legal frameworks and administrative mechanisms to advance tobacco control in the transport sector.

The effectiveness of this initiative will depend on several critical factors. First, transport operators and vehicle owners must understand and accept their responsibilities under the directive and demonstrate genuine commitment to implementation. Second, transport workers including drivers, conductors, and helpers must be trained on tobacco control requirements and empowered to enforce smoke-free policies in their vehicles. Third, regular monitoring and inspection systems must be established to verify that transport operators are complying with smoke-free requirements. Fourth, consistent enforcement action must be taken against those who violate tobacco control requirements, establishing clear consequences for non-compliance. Fifth, sustained public awareness campaigns must be conducted to build passenger understanding of and support for smoke-free public transport. When these elements work together in coordinated fashion, they create conditions for sustained success.

The BRTA directive is also significant for what it represents regarding institutional coordination on tobacco control. BRTA, as the primary regulatory authority for road transport, possesses the institutional capacity and legal authority to establish standards, conduct inspections, and enforce compliance. By issuing clear directives on tobacco control, BRTA signals that tobacco control is an integral part of the Authority's mission to ensure safe, healthy, and efficient public transport. This institutional commitment from BRTA creates an important foundation upon which civil society organizations and other stakeholders can build, knowing that government has established clear policy direction and allocated institutional authority toward achieving smoke-free public transport.

The directive's focus on Rajshahi Division is particularly significant because it addresses a region with substantial public transport activity. Making public transport smoke-free in Rajshahi will protect substantial populations from secondhand smoke exposure and serve as a model that can potentially be replicated in other divisions across Bangladesh. The initiative also demonstrates that tobacco control implementation is advancing beyond the earlier focus on road transport in Dhaka and other major cities to encompass regional centers and divisions throughout the country.

Looking forward, the success of this initiative will depend on sustained commitment from BRTA, meaningful cooperation from transport stakeholders, active monitoring and enforcement, and public awareness-building. Civil society organizations like DAS will likely continue their advocacy role, monitoring implementation progress and calling for consistent enforcement. The combination of government directive, institutional commitment, stakeholder cooperation, and civil society oversight creates the potential for meaningful progress toward establishing smoke-free public transport throughout Rajshahi Division.