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Reducing the number of cigarette price tiers, introducing a specific excise tax system, and effectively raising prices of all tobacco products in the final FY 2026-27 budget would not only improve the state of public health but also increase revenue inflow for the government. Economists and anti-tobacco activists said these today (25 June 2026, Thursday) during a post-budget press conference, organized jointly by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) that took place at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the National Press Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), PROGGA and ATMA stated that the national per capita income (provisional) increased by 10.27 percent between 2025 and 2026. During the same period, the prices of essential commodities rose by between 30 percent and 89 percent. However, the price of low-tier cigarettes, which account for 75 percent of the total cigarette market, was increased by only 3.33 percent, or just BDT 0.20 per stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prices of medium, high, and premium-tier cigarettes have been raised by 15 percent, 14.29 percent, and 13.51 percent, respectively. Moreover, by increasing only the base prices without raising tax rates, tobacco companies will pocket a portion of the additional revenue generated through the price hike. For example, a tobacco company would earn an additional BDT 4.25 in profit per pack due to a BDT 25 increase in the price per pack of the premium-tier. In contrast, if the price increase were achieved through higher taxes, the entire BDT 25 would go to the government treasury. The finalized budget has also kept the prices and taxes of bidi, jarda, and gul unchanged. In addition, the budget has brought nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products into the tax net, thereby effectively legalizing these two emerging threats to public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the proposed budget is passed as it is, tobacco products will eventually become cheaper and more affordable compared to essential commodities. It will also encourage the youth and the low-income demographic to use tobacco, thus increasing tobacco-related diseases and deaths, depriving the government of additional revenue from the tobacco sector and, above all, benefiting tobacco companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Dr. Rumana Huque, Department of Economics at the University of Dhaka, said, \u201cIf the low and medium-tier cigarette categories are merged, the retail price is set at BDT 100 per 10-stick pack, and a specific excise tax of BDT 4 per pack is imposed across all tiers in addition to the existing tax structure, government revenue will increase and public health will be better protected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doulot Akter Mala, President, Economic Reporters’ Forum, said, \u201cFor the sake of public health, we must hike the prices of all kinds of tobacco products and pushed them out of the purchasing capacity of the youth and low-income demographic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the press conference, experts also recommended that the government introduce a uniform price and tax rate for both filtered and non-filtered bidi and the retail price for 20 sticks of bidi should be BDT 30, followed by a 50 percent SD. Regarding smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be raised to BDT 60 and BDT 30 respectively, followed by 60 percent SD. Experts also recommend retaining 15 percent VAT on the retail prices of tobacco products and continuing the existing 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speakers at the event also stated that if the tax and price proposals put forward by tobacco control advocates are implemented, smoking prevalence would decline while the government would generate an additional BDT 44,000 crore in revenue. In the long term, nearly 400,000 premature deaths could be prevented. The proposed measures would also encourage nearly 500,000 adults to quit smoking and discourage around 372,000 youths from taking up smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussants at the event included Md. Monir Hossain Liton, Head of Online (Bangla), The Daily Times of Bangladesh; Ayesha Suhaima Rab, Program Associate, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA; Mizan Chowdhury, Co-convener, ATMA; ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA; and representatives from a number of anti-tobacco organizations. Nadira Kiron, Co-convener, ATMA, moderated the event, while Md. Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs, PROGGA, highlighted key insights on the proposed budget and presented the demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Press Release<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reducing the number of cigarette price tiers, introducing a specific excise tax system, and effectively raising prices of all tobacco products in the final FY 2026-27 budget would not only improve the state of public health but also increase revenue inflow for the government. Economists and anti-tobacco activists said these today (25 June 2026, Thursday) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-news"],"yoast_head":"\n