In Bangladesh, tobacco alone is responsible for about 80 per cent of lungs cancer and that tobacco use is increasing, especially among the young generation, they pointed out.

Developing countries like Bangladesh will bear the 'brunt of a tobacco epidemic' the activists cautioned, emphasising a massive anti-tobacco drive right from now.

The World No Tobacco Day 2004 with the theme 'Tobacco and poverty: a vicious circle' was observed in the country yesterday. Different organisations brought out rallies and held seminars on the occasion to raise mass awareness about harmful effects of tobacco.

Tobacco use has sharply increased in low and middle-income countries including Bangladesh in recent years although it has declined in many high-income countries.

About 75 per cent of tobacco users are in developing countries including Bangladesh, consuming around 60 per cent of the 5,700 billion cigarettes smoked worldwide each year. There are an estimated 1.5 crore smokers in Bangladesh.

This in itself justifies investments in a comprehensive tobacco control programmes, the activists said.

Tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving millions of families of bread earners and nations of a healthy workforce, they mentioned.

The proportion of household expenditures made on purchase of tobacco products is often very high in developing countries.

If two-thirds of the money spent on cigarettes in Bangladesh were spent on food instead, it could save more than 10 million people from malnutrition, the World Health Organisation said in a report.

A study shows the poorest households in Bangladesh spend on tobacco almost 10 times their spending on education.

Bangladesh Cancer Foundation, Adhunik and Coalition Against Tobacco, Bangladesh Young Tourists Club, Rotary Club, Manash and many other organisations observed the day.

The organisations cautioned against tobacco companies' campaigns that their activities benefit societies as they create jobs, help tobacco farmers, fuel economies, contribute to improvement of healthcare and educational facilities and promotion of cultural activities.

"Well-planned and well-managed charity, from sponsoring music, film and art festivals to creating education programmes for the disadvantaged and protecting the environment, in the name of corporate social responsibility, has become a necessary element of tobacco companies in their business plans," noted Dr Habibullah Talukder, president of Bangladesh Cancer Foundation.