Here is a great event idea from Bangladesh that you may want to duplicate in your state/country. The Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance held this event on the same day as British American Tobacco's annual general meeting.

The Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) recently held a symbolic funeral march in honor of the millions of people around the world who have died from tobacco, and to demand strong tobacco control law to reduce these unnecessary deaths in future.

Over 300 people from 23 different organizations marched in the symbolic funeral through the streets of Dhaka on April 16. Most wore the traditional mourning color of white, and pinned black labels to their clothes, creating a strong visual effect enhanced by the bearing of the coffins.

Individuals addressing the rally mourned loved ones who have died from tobacco, and demanded laws stopping tobacco advertisements, placing stronger warnings on tobacco packets, and making public places smoke-free. Speakers pointed out that tobacco harms not only individual health, but also personal and national economy, and the environment. Tobacco kills not only directly, said the speakers, but also through passive smoking—the breathing of the thousands of dangerous chemicals in tobacco smoke by others. Spending on tobacco also takes money away from basic needs such as food, thereby contributing to the malnutrition of over ten million children each year in Bangladesh. The tobacco epidemic can only be reduced if the Government of Bangladesh enacts strong laws, emphasized the speakers.

The procession received tremendous media coverage. All four Bangladeshi TV stations covered the event in the evening news. The event was also covered by 30 of the nation’s newspapers, including some front page coverage. To view pictures of the event, please go to the BATA website
under "BATA in the News."

We encourage other organizations to conduct a similar activity, emphasizing that while we mourn those who have died from tobacco, we also demand a solution to reduce the deaths: strong tobacco control law and a strong FCTC! If anyone would like more information on the event, or details on planning, please feel free to contact us.

--Syed Mahbubul Alam, WBB (BATA Secretariat)
For more info: [email protected]