Experts have suggested the government to hike the prices of tobacco products to tackle coronavirus crisis as 40 million people in Bangladesh are at grave risk of infection due to tobacco consumption.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently informed that lungs hooked on tobacco are at greater risk of COVID-19.
Eminent economist and the Convener of National Anti-Tobacco Platform Prof Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, and MPs Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Prof Habibe Millat and Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary joined the webinar discussion along with other experts ahead of the budget.
PROGGA and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) jointly organised on Tuesday.
They advised that increasing prices of tobacco products will reduce the use and also generate additional revenue.
The additional revenues can be utilized to bear coronavirus related medical expenses and implementation of stimulus package.
“Corona has opened up an opportunity for us. We shall opt for the path of welfare in this opportunity. In that case, we must control the use of tobacco products and emphasize public health management,” Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said.
Reiterating Prime Minister’s pledge to achieve a tobacco-free Bangladesh, Saber Hossain Chowdhury said: “If this year's national budget sees no fundamental change in the taxation of tobacco products and we lose this opportunity of additional revenue of Tk11 thousand crores, and also if consequently, all these deaths and illness persists, then I am afraid I cannot support this budget on moral and ethical grounds.”
Criticizing the letters issued by Members of the Parliament in favor of not increasing tobacco tax, Prof Millat said: “We must strengthen our forces further against tobacco.”
Supporting the proposed tax and price initiative he said that, “during this year’s budget session, we will motivate at least 150 parliamentarians to speak in favor of implementing this proposal.”
Experts at the webinar proposed:
1. Bringing the number of price slabs down to two (low and high) from four: A) Merge the 37+ and 63+ taka tiers under low tier and the minimum retail price for 10 sticks should be BDT 65. A supplementary duty of 50 percent and 10-taka specific tax should be imposed on the low-tier. Merge the 93+ and 123+ taka tiers under premium tier and the minimum retail price for 10 sticks should be BDT 125. A supplementary duty of 50 percent and 19-taka specific tax should be imposed on the premium tier.
2. Elimination of price distinction between filtered and non-filtered bidis: In bidi, the price for 25 filtered sticks should be BDT 40, which will be followed by a supplementary tax of 45 percent and a 6.85-taka specific tax. For 20 filtered bidi sticks, the price should be BDT 32, followed by a supplementary tax of 45 percent and a 5.48-taka specific tax.
3. Increase the price of smokeless tobacco (SLTs): For SLT products, the price per 10-gram jarda and gul should be BDT 40 and 23 respectively. A supplementary duty of 45 percent will be applied in both cases. A specific tax amounting BDT 5.71 and 3.45 will be realized for jarda and gul; A 15 percent value-added tax and 1 percent Health Development Surcharge will still be applied to all tobacco products.
4. Impose a 3 percent surcharge on retail prices of all tobacco products.
If those proposals are implemented, it would raise in additional revenues up to Tk10,000 crores for the government.
Also, an additional Tk1,000 crore would come from the 3 percent surcharge.
The additional revenues generated may help the government to recover losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, bear coronavirus related medical expenses and implement the stimulus packages.
At the same time, it would encourage nearly 2 million current adult smokers to quit and prevent 6 lac premature deaths in the long run.
Moreover, any future spread of viruses similar to coronavirus can be easily contained.
Dr. Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), and Dr. Rumana Huque, Professor of Department of Economics at the University of Dhaka presented the proposals at the webinar moderated by ATN Bangla News Editor Nadira Kiron.
