Dear Sir,
Taxes on all tobacco products, including cigarettes, should be increased. All tobacco products cause immense harm to humans. Cigarettes contain more than three thousand chemicals, many of which are toxic and carcinogenic. Nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke constrict blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Bad breath, gum disease, and oral cancer increase the risk of developing sexually transmitted diseases and Type 2 Diabetes, and make disease control difficult.
Today, the younger generation is becoming addicted to cigarettes day by day. Cigarette addiction is becoming an epidemic like a social disease. Cigarettes and other tobacco products have now become so easily available that they are being sold everywhere without any protection, which is tantamount to a decline in moral values. Although the younger generation considers smoking to be a part of nobility and fashion, it is causing irreparable harm to them. Smoking not only harms the smoker, but also harms everyone around them. Since tobacco products are within the purchasing power of all people, the abundance of tobacco products is increasing.
Therefore, the government should increase taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products and control their marketing. In addition, fines should be imposed if people are seen smoking in public.
MD Sahriar Sourov
Student, Islamic University, Kushtia
