Research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance have urged policymakers to reduce the number of cigarette price tiers from 4 to 3 in the upcoming national budget for the financial year 2025-26.
During the event at the National Press Club on Monday, speakers said that the existing four-tiered price system in cigarette barred any tax and pricing measure from playing an effective role.
Against this backdrop, the low and medium tiers of cigarettes should be merged and prices for the new tier should be hiked so that it can contribute additional revenue to government coffers and play a role in discouraging cigarette use among the youth and the poor demographic.
PROGGA and ATMA also presented a number of proposals to be incorporated in the FY26 national budget.
In support of the proposals, Mahfuz Kabir, research director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and member of Local Government Reform Commission, said, 鈥楥urrently more than 80 per cent of all cigarette users belong to low and medium tiers. Merging these two tiers into one can hike the government鈥檚 revenue inflow and reduce cigarette use. The additional revenue can significantly contribute to realising the government鈥檚 ongoing reform projects.鈥�
Daulat Akter Mala, president of Economic Reporters鈥� Forum, said, 鈥楾he government should bring all tobacco products out of the purchasing capacity of people to protect public health.鈥�
As presented during the event, an analysis of the average retail prices of essential commodities in seven metropolitan cities of the country (Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal and Rangpur) between July 4, 2021 and July 4, 2023, as reported by the Department of Agricultural Marketing, shows that price of loose sugar has seen a 89 per cent hike in this time period, the hike is 87 per cent for potatoes, 75 per cent for loose flour, 47 per cent for Pangash fish, 43 per cent for eggs, 34 per cent for soya bean oil, 30 per cent for powdered milk and 27 per cent for broiler chicken.
However, during this same timeframe, the hike in the prices of different tiers of cigarettes ranged between 6 -15 per cent only.
Among the tax and pricing measures presented during the event are as follows: the low and medium tier should be merged into one and prices for 10 sticks of the merged tier should be set at TK 90 while the retail price of high-tier cigarettes should be kept at existing Tk 140 for 10 sticks. The prices for 10 sticks of premium cigarettes should be raised to Tk 190 while the supplementary duty on all cigarette tiers should be the existing 67 per cent.
For non-filtered bidi, the retail price should be TK 25 for 25 sticks. In the case of filtered bidi, the retail price for 20 sticks should be set at TK 20. Both prices should be followed by a 45 per cent SD.
Regarding smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be TK 55 and TK 30, followed by 60 per cent SD. The budget proposals also suggest retaining 15 per cent VAT on the retail prices of tobacco products and continuing the existing 1 per cent health development surcharge.
In support of the proposals, speakers informed that budget proposals placed by anti-tobacco organizations, if realised, can help the government raise a staggering Tk 20,000 crore in additional revenue, which will come in handy in reaching revenue targets and improve public health. Implementation of such proposals, in the long run, will also help prevent the premature deaths of 1.7 million Bangladeshis, including nearly 9,00,000 youths.
The discussants in the event include Mortuza Haider Liton, convener of ATMA, Mizan Chowdhury, co-convener of ATMA, ABM Zubair, executive director of PROGGA, and leaders of different anti-tobacco organisations. Nadira Kiron, co-convener of ATMA, hosted the event whereas Md Hasan Shahriar, tobacco control head of PROGGA, presented the budget proposals.
Tobacco claims 1,61,000 lives every year in Bangladesh. In 2017-18, the toll of tobacco use in the national economy (due to medical expenses and loss of productivity) stood at Tk 30,560 crore.