Dhaka, July 21 -- tobacco campaigners on Tuesday called for an immediate ban on nicotine pouches in Bangladesh, expressing concern over a move by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to formulate standards for the product, which they say could pave the way for its introduction into the local market.

The BSTI has recently initiated a process to formulate standards for nicotine pouches, a product considered harmful to public health, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) said in a press release.

It has undertaken this initiative by forming a Tobacco and Tobacco Products Technical Committee, which does not include representatives from the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC) and tobacc...