Twenty-six members of parliament have issued Demi-Official (DO) letters to Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, urging the government to impose effective tax and price hikes on all tobacco products in the upcoming national budget for FY2026–27.
The information was confirmed by relevant official sources.
On Sunday, a delegation of lawmakers comprising Mst Farida Yasmin, Sunsila Jabrin, Ferdousi Ahmed, Arifa Sultana and Newaz Halima Arly met the finance minister on behalf of the signatories and handed over the DO letters signed by 26 MPs.
In the letters, the lawmakers proposed merging the low and medium cigarette tiers and fixing the retail price of a 10-stick cigarette pack at Tk 100.
They also recommended setting the retail prices of high-tier and premium-tier 10-stick cigarette packs at Tk 140 and Tk 200 respectively, alongside introducing a specific tax of Tk 4 per 10 sticks across all cigarette categories.
The MPs further proposed setting the retail price of 25-stick non-filtered biri packs at Tk 30, 10 grams of zarda at Tk 60 and 10 grams of gul at Tk 35.
According to the DO letters, implementation of the proposed measures could generate approximately Tk 85,000 crore in revenue from the cigarette sector alone.
The lawmakers also claimed the proposed reforms would encourage around 500,000 adults to quit smoking and discourage nearly 372,000 young people from initiating tobacco use.
The letters described the proposals as a “win-win” initiative that would both increase government revenue and strengthen public health protection.
