The Anti-Tobacco Parliamentary Women’s Forum – an integral counterpart of the esteemed Nari Maitree organisation – has called upon the finance ministry to amplify taxes on tobacco products in the forthcoming national budget.
A delegation team of the forum handed over a letter to the ministry in the presence of State Minister for Finance Begum Waseqa Ayesha Khan on Thursday in this regard, reads a press release.
The Coordinator of Nari Maitree’s tobacco project Nasrin Akter said, “We have submitted a letter to the ministry asking for an increase in tobacco tax. The state minister has expressed her solidarity with our demands.
"We hope that in the next national budget, the government will raise the tobacco product taxes," she continued.
According to the Anti-Tobacco Parliamentary Women's Forum letter, tax rises can lower tobacco consumption by discouraging people from consuming such products.
The forum recommended pricing cigarettes at Tk 60 for low-tier, Tk 80 for medium-tier, Tk 130 for high-tier, and Tk 170 for premium-tier per pack of 10 cigarettes, with an additional 65 per cent supplementary duty imposed on low-tier cigarettes.
Another suggestion is to charge Tk 25 for 25 unfiltered bidis with an additional 45 per cent supplementary duty.
The forum also recommended fixing the price of 10 grams of smokeless tobacco (Jorda) at Tk 55, and Tk 30 for 10 grams of snuff, with a 60 per cent additional duty imposed on both.
It is projected that approximately Tk 47 billion in revenue will be generated solely from the tobacco industry if these measures are included in the budget for the fiscal year 2024–2025.
Furthermore, around 1.5 million people will be discouraged from smoking, and approximately 1 million youth will be deterred from starting to smoke. This initiative can be beneficial for both the public and the government.
Overall, it might be a big step towards Bangladesh becoming tobacco-free by 2040.
