Staff Reporter : Merging the low and medium tiers of cigarettes into a single tier and setting the retail price at BDT 100 per 10 sticks, BDT 150 for the high tier, and BDT 200 or above for premium cigarettes, along with introducing a specific tax of BDT 4 per 10-stick pack on top of the existing 67% supplementary duty, would generate approximately BDT 44,000 crore in additional revenue compared to the current fiscal year.
At the same time, it would prevent around 400,000 premature deaths in the long term. This reform proposal was presented today (Tuesday, 28 April) by the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) at a pre-budget discussion held in the conference room of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
During the meeting, NBR Chairman Md. Abdur Rahman Khan SAID, “Increasing tobacco taxes and prices reduces cigarette consumption, as evidenced by the National Board of Revenue. Accordingly, further increases in taxes and prices will be considered in the future.”
It was stated at the discussion meeting that due to the lack of effective price increases, the real prices of cigarettes and other tobacco products are declining, making them cheaper relative to essential commodities. According to 2025 data from the World Health Organization, the price of the most sold cigarette brands in Bangladesh remains lower than in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, and India.
To effectively increase tobacco product prices, 69 countries worldwide, including India, Thailand, and Turkey, have already introduced specific taxes alongside the ad valorem system. Specific taxes are highly effective in raising the minimum price of tobacco products, and this method is comparatively easier for tax collection.
At the pre-budget discussion, it was proposed to set a uniform price and tax rate for 20-stick filtered and non-filtered bidis at BDT 30 with a 50% supplementary duty. For zarda and gul, it was proposed to fix retail prices at BDT 60 and BDT 30 per 10 grams respectively, with a 60% supplementary duty. It was also recommended to retain a 15% VAT and a 1% health development surcharge on all tobacco products.
It is noteworthy that in Bangladesh, 35.3% of adults use tobacco, and nearly 200,000 people die each year due to tobacco use. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the health and environmental damages caused by tobacco use amounted to BDT 87,000 crore, which is double the revenue generated from this sector.
At the pre-budget discussion, the participants representing ATMA included Kawser Rahman, Chief Reporter of Daily Janakantha; Md. Monir Hossain Liton, Head of Online (Bangla) at Daily Times of Bangladesh; Md. Shafiqul Islam, Business Incharge at Bangla Tribune; Murtuza Haider Liton, Convener of ATMA; and Co-conveners Nadira Kiran and Mizan Chowdhury.