Revenue rose by 11.5 times in 18 years despite stronger tobacco control law: Experts
Following the increase in taxes, tobacco consumption in Bangladesh declined by nearly 18% between 2009 and 2017, they said
In a contrary trend, tobacco tax revenue surged by 11.5 times in the last 18 years since the tobacco control law was enacted in 2005 and subsequently strengthened in 2013, even though companies claimed stricter regulations would harm the economy, experts said at a meeting today (3 November).
Moreover, following the increase in taxes, tobacco consumption in Bangladesh declined by nearly 18% between 2009 and 2017, which suggests that consumers are becoming more aware of the health risks associated with tobacco use and are responding to the higher prices, they said.
Their observations came during the view-exchange meeting jointly organised by the Bureau of Economic Research (BER) of Dhaka University and the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) at the BNTTP office in the capital's Gulshan.
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The meeting was presided over by Prof Rumana Huque, the focal person of BER and the convener of BNTTP. Hamidul Islam Hillol, project manager of BER, presented the keynote, while Bangladesh Cancer Society President and oncologist Prof Dr Golam Mohiuddin Faruque and Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) Acting Coordinator Helal Ahmed attended as chief guest and special guest, respectively.
The experts argued that tobacco companies have been spreading false information by claiming that stronger laws would lead to a decline in government revenue. However, data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) clearly contradicts this assertion.
In Bangladesh, when the tobacco control law was passed in 2005, the revenue from tobacco that year was Tk2,888 crore. In the following fiscal year of 2005-06, the revenue increased to Tk3,351 crore, they said citing NBR data.
When the law was amended in 2013, the government's revenue from tobacco stood at Tk10,170 crore. This further increased to Tk12,556 crore in FY2013-14. In FY2022-23, the total revenue from the tobacco sector reached Tk32,823 crore, experts said.
They also mentioned that tobacco companies are spreading false information by claiming that a stricter tobacco control law will lead to job losses in the country. However, according to NBR data, only 46,000 people are employed in the bidi (hand-rolled cigarettes) industry.
On the other hand, they said, two multinational cigarette companies – British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) – control nearly 90% of the market. According to statements of these companies, they have only 1,769 employees (1,669 in BAT and around 100 in JTI).
Therefore, the claim by cigarette companies that 70 lakh people will lose their jobs is a blatant lie, stressed the speakers.
Senior journalists, tobacco control and public health experts, and representatives of various anti-tobacco organisations also spoke at the meeting.
The speakers emphasised the urgent need for stronger tobacco control measures to protect public health. They called for stricter enforcement of existing laws, higher taxes on tobacco products, and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.
