Anti-tobacco advocates demand for higher taxes in FY26 budget to protect public health
Speakers at the conference emphasised the urgent need and logical demand for effective taxation on tobacco products
The Shastho Shurokkha Foundation has urged the interim government to increase taxes and prices of tobacco products in the upcoming 2025-26 budget to curb tobacco use and protect public health.
The demand was made during a press conference titled "Necessity of Increasing Taxes and Prices of Tobacco Products in the Upcoming 2025-26 Budget to Protect Public Health," held at the National Press Club yesterday.
Speakers at the conference emphasised the urgent need and logical demand for effective taxation on tobacco products.
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According to them, cigarettes in Bangladesh are currently categorised into four price tiers – low, medium, high, and ultra-high.
The speakers proposed merging the low and medium tiers into a single category, reducing the number of tiers to three. Under the proposed structure, the price of a 10-stick pack of cigarettes would be Tk90, Tk140, and Tk190 respectively, they added.
At the press conference, Dr Nizam Uddin Ahmed, executive director of Shastho Shurokkha Foundation and chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Initiatives (GAVI), highlighted some harmful effects of tobacco products and its use.
Citing the Tobacco Atlas 2018, he stated that approximately 161,000 people die prematurely in Bangladesh each year due to tobacco-related diseases.
"That means, 442 lives are lost prematurely every day," he said.
He also noted that various diseases caused by tobacco consumption – such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, kidney disease, and trauma are gradually increasing in the country.
Dr Md Rafiqul Islam, policy advisor of Shastho Shurokkha Foundation and professor of sociology at Jagannath University, said, "If effective taxes and price increases on tobacco products are imposed in the upcoming 2025-26 budget, it is possible to generate revenue of Tk69,000 crore.
"It will also be possible to prevent 17 lakh deaths, stop 24 lakh adults from smoking, and discourage 17 lakh youths from starting to smoke."
He also pointed out that Bangladesh, according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, has one of the highest rates of smoking among adolescents aged 13 to 15, alongside India and Indonesia.
About 12 percent of adolescents in Bangladeshis are addicted to smoking regularly, he said.
"Therefore, there is no alternative to increasing taxes and prices of tobacco products in the upcoming fiscal year to protect future generations," Rafiqul added.
