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The government remains committed to strengthening tobacco control and protecting public health through higher tobacco product prices and effective taxation measures in the upcoming national budget, Dr. S. M. Ziauddin Haider, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Affairs, said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks at a seminar titled “Protecting Public Health from the Harmful Effects of Tobacco: Challenges and Way Forward,” jointly organised by the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) and the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP) at the BMA Auditorium in Dhaka.
Dr. Ziauddin said tobacco control and public health protection were among the key commitments outlined in the government's election manifesto. Referring to World No Tobacco Day, he noted that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had reaffirmed the government's determination to protect children, adolescents and future generations from the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine.
He described the period leading up to the finalisation of the FY2026-27 national budget as a crucial opportunity to adopt stronger measures to safeguard public health.
Presenting the keynote paper, Zeba Afroza highlighted recommendations made by public health and tobacco control experts to simplify the existing four-tier cigarette pricing structure by reducing it to three tiers. She said experts proposed merging the low- and medium-tier categories and setting the retail price of a 10-stick cigarette pack at Tk 100.
The proposal also recommends retaining the existing 67 per cent supplementary duty across all cigarette tiers while introducing a specific tax of Tk 4 per 10-stick pack. According to the presenters, such measures would significantly reduce the affordability of tobacco products, particularly among young people.
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 Tk 60 to Tk 62, despite the fact that nearly 75 per cent of cigarettes sold in Bangladesh belong to this category. Given inflation exceeding 9 per cent, he argued that the increase was too small to discourage tobacco consumption.
Dr. Nahin further claimed that low-tier cigarettes are already being sold at around Tk 7 per stick, compared with the proposed official retail price of Tk 6.2. As a result, tobacco companies could earn an untaxed additional profit of approximately Tk 0.8 per cigarette.
He estimated that, based on sales of 68.89 billion low-tier cigarettes during FY2023-24, tobacco companies could generate roughly Tk 55.12 billion in additional profits, resulting in a significant loss of potential tax revenue for the government.
Speakers at the seminar welcomed recent amendments to the tobacco control law and expressed hope that the government would further strengthen tobacco control policies in line with its electoral commitments.
As the lead discussant, Dr. Md. Zahirul Islam, Secretary General of DAB, voiced concern over the proposed taxation of nicotine pouches, nicotine granules and Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs). He argued that taxation could inadvertently legitimise these products and encourage their expansion in the market, particularly among young people.
DAB President Professor Dr. Harun Al Rashid called on the government to review the tax and price structure for low-tier cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products in the FY2026-27 budget.
He said implementation of recommendations from public health experts could generate an additional Tk 44 billion in government revenue, 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 DORP Founder and Chief Executive Officer AHM Noman and moderated by the organisation's Deputy Executive Director Mohammad Zobair Hasan. Public health experts, DAB members and youth representatives also attended the event.
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