Effective reform of the tobacco tax structure can improve public health and increase government revenue. At a discussion meeting titled “Budget 2026–27: Advancing Public Health and Increasing Tobacco Revenue,” held on Sunday (10 May) at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the National Press Club in the capital, economists, physicians, and other experts proposed reducing the number of cigarette price tiers, introducing a specific tax system, and increasing the prices of all tobacco products.
The speakers stated that if these reform proposals are implemented, the government could generate nearly BDT 44,000 crore in additional revenue from the cigarette sector alone, while also preventing around 400,000 premature deaths in the long term. The event was jointly organized by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA).
At the discussion meeting, the following measures were proposed: merging the low and medium cigarette tiers and setting the retail price at BDT 100 per pack of 10 sticks, while setting the high-tier price at BDT 150 and the premium-tier price at BDT 200 or above. The recommendations also included retaining the existing 67 percent supplementary duty (SD) on all cigarette tiers and introducing a specific tax of BDT 4 per 10 sticks.
In support of the proposals, Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), said, “The price difference between the low and medium tiers is very small. Currently, consumers of the low and medium tiers constitute 90 percent of all cigarette users. Merging these two tiers into one and setting the price of the merged tier at BDT 100 for 10 sticks can increase government revenue and particularly discourage cigarette use among the poor and the youth.”
Dr. Rumana Huque, Professor of the Department of Economics at University of Dhaka, said, “In Bangladesh, tobacco products are cheaper than essential commodities, which poses a major threat to public health. Effective measures must be taken to make tobacco products unaffordable to the people.”
Dr. Syed Abdul Hamid, Professor at the Institute of Health Economics of University of Dhaka, said, “The introduction of a specific tax system is a highly effective measure for simplifying tax collection.”
Zahirul Alam, Executive Director, Channel24, said, "“Continued media coverage is needed to highlight the importance of increasing taxes and prices on tobacco products.”
Public health expert Dr. Lenin Choudhury said, "I urge the policymakers to implement all the prices and tax related proposals presented in the event so that it can discourage tobacco use."
Dr. Abu Jamil Faisel, President, Public Health Association of Bangladesh, said, "When it comes to building a tobacco-free Bangladesh, there is no alternative to increasing prices and taxes of tobacco products."
The budget proposals presented during the event also included bidi, jarda and gul. Experts recommended that the government introduce uniform price and taxes for both filtered and non-filtered bidi and the retail price for 20 sticks of bidi should be BDT 30, followed by a 50 percent SD. For smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be BDT 60 and BDT 30 respectively, followed by 60 percent SD. The budget proposals also suggest retaining a15 percent VAT on the retail prices of all tobacco products and continuing the existing 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS).
It should be noted that the prevalence of tobacco use among adults (15 y/o and above) stands at 35.3 percent. Tobacco claims nearly 200,000 lives each year in Bangladesh. The widespread availability of tobacco products is the primary reason behind such a high death toll. According to a 2025 World Health Organization study, the price of the most sold brand of cigarettes in Bangladesh costs much less when compared to that of its South Asian peers, i.e., Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal and India. To effectively increase the prices of tobacco products, a total of 69 countries, including India, Thailand and Turkiye, have already introduced specific taxes in addition to the ad-valorem system.
The discussants of the event, hosted by Nadira Kiron, Co-convener, ATMA, also included Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA; and ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA. Representatives from a number of anti-tobacco organizations, journalists from different media outlets and concerned experts were also present.
