Public health experts call for tobacco tax reform

Public health advocates and experts have urged the government to reduce the number of cigarette price tiers, introduce a specific tax system, and impose effective taxation on all tobacco products in the national budget for fiscal year 2026–27 in an effort to curb tobacco consumption and increase state revenue.
The demand was raised at a press conference titled “Demand for Taxation and Price Increase on Tobacco Products in the Upcoming FY2026–27 Budget for Public Health Protection”, organised by Dhaka Ahsania Mission at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Thursday.
Speakers at the event said reforms in the tobacco tax structure could significantly reduce smoking prevalence, prevent premature deaths, and generate substantial additional revenue for the government.
Under the proposed reforms, the current four-tier cigarette pricing structure would be reduced to three tiers by merging the low and medium categories. The proposed retail prices for a 10-stick cigarette pack would be set at BDT 100, BDT 150 and BDT 200 respectively. The speakers also recommended retaining the existing 67 percent supplementary duty across all cigarette tiers while imposing a specific tax of BDT 4 per pack.
The proposed measures also included setting the retail price of a 20-stick bidi pack at BDT 30 with a 50 percent supplementary duty. The speakers further recommended fixing the retail price of 10 grams of zarda at BDT 48 and increasing the price of 10 grams of gul from BDT 25 to BDT 30, alongside a 60 percent supplementary duty. They also urged the government to continue the existing 15 percent VAT and 1 percent Health Development Surcharge on all tobacco products.
According to the organisers, implementation of the proposed tax measures could encourage nearly 500,000 adults to quit smoking and deter more than 372,000 youths from taking up smoking. They claimed the reforms could prevent the premature deaths of over 370,000 people in the long term and reduce tobacco use prevalence by around 0.5 percentage points.
The speakers also said the proposed measures could generate nearly BDT 85,000 crore in revenue from the tobacco sector, approximately BDT 44,000 crore higher than the current fiscal year’s earnings from the sector.
Professor of University of Dhaka, Dr Shafiun Nahin Shimul, said cigarette prices in Bangladesh had increased at a much slower pace than essential commodities in recent years.
“Between 2021 and 2023, sugar prices increased by 88.97 percent, potato prices by 86.58 percent, and flour prices by 75.09 percent. In contrast, prices of low-tier cigarettes increased by only 15.38 percent and medium-tier cigarettes by just 6.35 percent,” he said.
He added that medium-tier cigarettes, which have the largest consumer base, experienced the lowest price increase, making cigarettes increasingly affordable compared to daily essentials.
General Secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity, Mainul Hasan Sohel, said effective tobacco taxation would help reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases while strengthening healthcare financing in the country.

President of the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum, Masudul Haque, said around 200,000 people die prematurely every year in Bangladesh due to tobacco-related diseases, accounting for nearly 18 percent of total deaths.
The press conference was chaired by Mukhlesur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Health Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission. Among others present were Shariful Islam, Marzana Muntaha, and Arifur Rahman Tipu.