Effective taxation and price hikes on cigarettes are now a pressing need. To address this, young doctors across the country have called for a reduction in the existing four-tier cigarette price structure to three tiers and an increase in prices in the upcoming 2025–26 fiscal budget.
These demands were voiced today during a human chain organized by the Sandhani Central Committee in collaboration with the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh at the premises of the National Press Club.
Over a hundred young doctors studying at various medical colleges in the country participated in the event. Terming this one of the main reasons for the widespread availability of tobacco products in Bangladesh is its flawed and complex tax structure, they said this has led to an alarming rise in smoking among youth and low-income populations.
Speaking at the event, the participating doctors stated that the current four-tier pricing system—low, medium, high, and premium—undermines effective tobacco tax policy. Specifically, the minimal price gap between the low and medium tiers makes it easy for consumers to switch between them.
They argued that merging the low and medium tiers and increasing their prices would deter smoking among low-income groups and the youth, while significantly increasing government revenue.
The young doctors proposed the following tax and price structure for the upcoming budget: merge the low and medium tiers and set the retail price at TK 90 per 10-stick cigarette pack; keep the high tier unchanged at TK 140 per 10-stick pack; set the premium tier at TKb190 per 10-stick pack. They also proposed maintaining the current rates of supplementary duty (67%), VAT (15%), and the health development surcharge (1%) on retail prices.
The doctors further recommended raising the prices of bidis and other tobacco products. They demanded that the retail price of a 25-stick unfiltered bidi pack be set at TK 25, and that of a 20-stick filtered bidi pack at TK 20, with a 45% supplementary duty. For smokeless tobacco products, they proposed a retail price of TK 55 for 10 grams of zarda and TK 30 for 10 grams of gul, with a 60% supplementary duty.
Speaking at the event, Md. Abdullah Al Noman, Publicity Secretary of Sandhani East West Medical and Update Dental College Unit, said, “Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use rate in South Asia at 35.3%, largely because tobacco products are more affordable here than in neighboring countries.
Raising taxes will make them less accessible to the youth. Implementing these proposals could generate an additional TK 20,000 crore in revenue, reduce smoking rates, and save lives’’ he added.
