Govt Committed to Stronger Tobacco Control Through Higher Prices, Says Ziauddin Haider

The government remains committed to strengthening tobacco control measures, including increasing the prices of tobacco products through the national budget, to protect public health, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Affairs Dr S M Ziauddin Haider said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka, he said protecting public health and reducing tobacco use were among the key commitments outlined in the government’s election manifesto. Referring to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, he said the premier had reiterated on World No Tobacco Day the government’s firm commitment to safeguarding children, adolescents and future generations from the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine.

“The period leading up to the finalisation of the FY2026-27 national budget presents an important opportunity to take effective measures for protecting public health,” Dr Haider said.

He was addressing a seminar titled “Protecting Public Health from the Harmful Effects of Tobacco: Challenges and Way Forward” jointly organised by the Doctors Association of Bangladesh and the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor at the BMA Auditorium in the capital.

Presenting the keynote paper, Zeba Afroza said public health and tobacco control experts had proposed reducing the existing four-tier cigarette price structure to three tiers to simplify tax administration and make tobacco products less affordable.

She explained that the prices of low- and medium-tier cigarettes were currently very close, enabling smokers to switch to cheaper brands when prices increase. Experts therefore recommended merging the two tiers and fixing the retail price of a 10-stick cigarette pack at Tk100.

The proposal also calls for maintaining the existing 67 per cent supplementary duty on all cigarette tiers while introducing a specific tax of Tk4 per 10-stick pack, she added.

Dr Shafiun Nahin, Director of the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka, criticised the proposed budget for introducing only a marginal increase in cigarette prices.

He noted that the price of a 10-stick pack of low-tier cigarettes had been raised from Tk60 to Tk62 despite the fact that nearly 75 per cent of all cigarettes sold in Bangladesh fall into this category.

“An increase of only Tk2 per pack is insufficient to discourage tobacco use, particularly when inflation remains above 9 per cent,” he said.

Dr Nahin further argued that low-tier cigarettes are already being sold at around Tk7 per stick in many retail outlets, while the proposed budget sets the retail price at Tk6.2 per stick. As a result, tobacco companies could earn an untaxed additional profit of around Tk0.8 per stick.

According to his estimates, Bangladesh sold 68.89 billion low-tier cigarettes in FY2023-24. Based on the additional profit margin, tobacco companies could earn about Tk55.12 billion (Tk5,512 crore) in extra profits, leading to a significant loss of potential government revenue.

The speakers thanked the government for amending the tobacco control law and expressed hope that further measures would be taken in line with its electoral commitments to protect future generations.

As the lead discussant, Dr Md Zahirul Islam, Secretary General of DAB, warned that the proposed budget’s decision to impose taxes on nicotine pouches, nicotine granules and Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) could effectively legitimise such products and facilitate their expansion in the market.

He said this could increase the risk of nicotine addiction, particularly among young people and adolescents.

In his presidential address, Professor Dr Harun Al Rashid, President of DAB, urged the government to reconsider the tax and price structure for low-tier cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products in the upcoming budget.

He said implementing the recommendations of public health experts could generate an additional Tk44 billion in government revenue. It could also encourage nearly 500,000 adult smokers to quit, prevent around 372,000 young people from taking up smoking and avert nearly 400,000 premature deaths in the long term.

The seminar was welcomed by AHM Noman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DORP, and moderated by Mohammad Zobair Hasan, Deputy Executive Director of the organisation.

Among others present were Iqbal Masud of the Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Professor Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury of the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute and members of DCAB.