Photo: Messenger
Today, 27 January, at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital, a Youth Conference was organized by the Shastho Shurokkha Foundation, consisting of students from various universities, academics, researchers, civil society and high-ranking officials of government and private organizations, demanding effective taxation of tobacco products to protect public health and increase revenue.
The main article stated that every year, about 161,000 adults die prematurely due to tobacco use-related diseases and the tobacco use rate in Bangladesh is the highest in South Asia at 35.3%. Moreover, the government spends 34% more on the treatment of tobacco-related diseases than the amount of revenue it collects from the tobacco sector.
In the meeting to reduce tobacco use and eliminate tobacco-related harm in the country, one of the demands made for increasing tobacco taxes and prices in the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year budget is to reduce the current four tiers of cigarettes to three tiers, i.e., combine the low and middle tiers into one tier and set the minimum price of a 10-pack of cigarettes of this tier at 80 taka; it is also demanded to increase the supplementary duty on cigarettes of all tiers to 67%. In addition, it is proposed to set the minimum price of a 10-pack of high-tier cigarettes at 130 taka, and the minimum price of a 10-pack of premium-tier cigarettes at 180 taka.
It was further informed that if the above-mentioned tobacco tax and price hike proposal is implemented, about 1.6 million premature deaths can be prevented, about 1.6 million youth can be prevented from starting smoking, about 2.3 million adult smokers will be encouraged to quit smoking, and about 60 thousand crore taka revenue will be collected in the fiscal year 2025-26.
Sheikh Momena Moni, Additional Secretary (Global Health Division) and Program Director, National Tobacco Control Cell, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Shafiun Nahin Shimul, Professor, Institute of Health Economics, Dhaka University and Dr. Md. Shahidul Islam, Former Member, National Board of Revenue (NBR) were present as special guests in this discussion program.
Sheikh Momena Moni, Additional Secretary (Global Health Division) and Program Director, National Tobacco Control Cell, Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said, to reduce the availability of tobacco products, specific taxes should be imposed and increased regularly in line with inflation and income growth; the price level of cigarette users should be changed by reducing the supplementary duty and price gap between the price levels of cigarettes and limiting the opportunity to use low-price cigarettes; a single price level system should be introduced in phases. We have already taken various initiatives, including the Ministry of Information. We have informed through an official letter that tobacco product advertisements should be stopped in dramas and movies. We have written to the Ministry of Education to use anti-tobacco information in textbooks to make students aware.
Professor of Dhaka University, Institute of Health Economics, Dr. Shafiun Nahin Shimul said, "The most effective and cost-effective way to control tobacco is to increase the price and tax rate of tobacco products and take it out of the reach of people. Its impact is greatest on teenagers. High prices of tobacco products will deter teenagers from using tobacco. Research shows that if the price increases by 10 percent, its use in Bangladesh will decrease by 7.1 percent." He also said that if there is a retail price for a single stick, sellers increase the retail price and sell it for full taka. Although tobacco users buy it at a higher price, the government does not get any revenue from the increased price, but the profits of traders increase.
Former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Dr. Md. Shahidul Islam said, increasing the price of tobacco products through tax increases is an internationally recognized method to discourage tobacco use. However, in Bangladesh, tobacco products are very cheap and easily available and the tobacco tax structure is flawed. This cannot discourage young boys and girls from using tobacco. As deaths and illnesses due to tobacco use increase, the government's health expenditure is also increasing.
At the same time, Professor Dr. Rafiqul Islam, Department of Sociology, Jagannath University said, "Increasing the prices of all types of cigarettes in line with inflation and income growth, increasing the supplementary duty on low-end cigarettes to at least 70 percent of the retail price, and introducing a uniform specific or mixed (specific and ad valorem) tax system instead of the multi-tiered ad valorem tax system on cigarettes has the potential to increase revenue and improve public health, while also keeping the younger generation free from its effects."
Arif Ahmed, a student of the Department of Sociology, Jagannath University, said, "A smoke-free society is necessary for a healthy and prosperous country. Today's youth are our future. To protect the younger generation, there is no alternative to increasing taxes and prices of tobacco products. According to the World Health Organization, 8 million people die every year due to tobacco consumption. Of these, 7.1 million people die due to direct tobacco use and about 900,000 people die due to indirect smoking." Among minors aged 13-15 years (Global Youth Tobacco Survey-2013), 6.9% use some form of tobacco, of which 9.2% are boys and 2.8% are girls. Our goal should be to reduce this percentage to zero. We can reach this goal soon by increasing additional taxes on tobacco products. Therefore, I request the current caretaker government to play an important role in protecting public health and the young generation by increasing additional taxes on tobacco products in the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26.
Anti-Tobacco Club Youth Leader, Golam Morshed said, Tobacco use increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, COPD or lung cancer by 57 percent and the risk of other types of cancer by 109 percent. To reduce tobacco use and keep our current young generation safe, we have no alternative but to increase the tax on tobacco products and increase its price.
Among others, members of the Jagannath University Anti-Tobacco Club and Dr. Barisha Paul, Project Coordinator, Shastho Shurokkha Foundation, high-ranking officials of various government and non-government organizations, representatives of domestic and foreign development assistance agencies, and media personnel were also present at the event.
Messenger/Tushar
