Dhaka: Speakers at a discussion held at the National Press Club emphasized the need for effective reform in the tobacco tax structure in the upcoming national budget. This reform aims to enhance public health while simultaneously increasing government revenue.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the event titled ‘Budget 2026-27: Advancing Public Health and Increasing Tobacco Revenue,’ was organized by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA). The speakers highlighted the potential for the government to generate nearly BDT 44,000 crore in additional revenue from the cigarette sector alone, while also reducing the number of premature deaths caused by tobacco use, currently accounting for approximately 400,000 premature deaths annually in the country.
Economists, physicians, and other experts recommended several measures, including reducing the number of cigarette price tiers, introducing a specific tax system, and increasing the prices of all tobacco products. They proposed uniform pricing and taxes for both filtered and non-filtered bidi, suggesting a retail price of BDT 30 for 20 sticks of bidi and a 50 percent supplementary duty (SD). For smokeless tobacco, they recommended setting the retail price at BDT 60 for 10 grams of jarda and BDT 30 for gul, with a 60 percent SD.
The retention of a 15 percent VAT on the retail prices of all tobacco products and the continuation of the existing 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS) were also advised. Additional recommendations included merging the low and medium cigarette tiers, setting the retail price at BDT 100 per pack of 10 sticks, and establishing the high-tier price at BDT 150 and the premium-tier price at BDT 200 or above. The current 67 percent supplementary duty (SD) on all cigarette tiers should be retained, with the introduction of a specific tax of BDT 4 per 10 sticks.
Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), pointed out that the small price difference between low and medium tiers currently leads to 90 percent of cigarette users choosing these tiers. He suggested that merging these tiers and setting a price of BDT 100 could increase government revenue and discourage cigarette use among the poor and youth.
Dr. Rumana Huque, Professor of Economics at the University of Dhaka, emphasized the affordability of tobacco products compared to essential commodities, highlighting the threat to public health. She advocated for measures to make tobacco products unaffordable. Dr. Syed Abdul Hamid from the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka emphasized that a specific tax system could simplify tax collection effectively.
Public health expert Dr. Lenin Choudhury called on policymakers to implement the proposed prices and tax-related measures to discourage tobacco use. Other speakers included Zahirul Alam, Executive Director of Channel24, Dr. Abu Jamil Faisel, President of the Public Health Association of Bangladesh, Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener of ATMA, and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA.