Proposed tobacco tax reform can generate around Tk85,000 crore a year, according to Shafiun N Shimul, professor and director of the Institute of Health Economics (IHE), University of Dhaka. The reported revenue from the sector for FY24 was 40,000 crore.
He was presenting the keynote at a workshop on reforming tobacco pricing and taxation ahead of the FY 2026–27 national budget at the office of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) on Thursday.
The session highlighted how a simplified tax structure could generate an additional BDT 44,000 crore in government revenue while protecting nearly 400,000 adolescents from starting a lifelong addiction.
The workshop was organized by PPRC in collaboration with the Institute of Health Economics (IHE) at the University of Dhaka, the World Health Organization (WHO), Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), and Vital Strategies.
Dr Shimul said 35.3% of adults use tobacco, the highest rate in South Asia. In 2024, tobacco caused an estimated 2 lakh deaths, accounting for over 18 per cent of all deaths in the country.
Despite, he added, cigarettes in Bangladesh remain among the cheapest in the world, with prices for low-tier brands rising 54 per cent, far behind the surges in essential goods such as garlic, which increased 267 per cent, and rice, which went up 193 per cent since 2020–21.
To tackle these challenges, experts at the workshop proposed overhauling the current multi-tier system.
They recommended merging low and medium-tier cigarettes into a single category and setting minimum retail prices at Tk100 for a 10-cigarette pack in the merged tier, Tk150 for high-tier, and Tk200 for premium cigarettes.
A uniform excise tax of Tk4 per 10-stick pack would apply across all tiers. Participants said the reform could curb “down-trading,” where smokers switch to cheaper brands instead of quitting.
Bangladesh spends an estimated Tk87,000 crore each year on healthcare costs linked to tobacco use, according to Shafiun N Shimul, Professor and Director of the Institute of Health Economics (IHE), University of Dhaka.
A key focus of the workshop was the high vulnerability of youth. The reform is projected to encourage 5 lakh adults to quit and deter 3.72 lakh youths from initiating tobacco use.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of PPRC, framed tobacco control as a fundamental component of democratic governance. “Tobacco control is fundamentally a democratic policy exercise. It is not about banning individuals or punishing smokers, but about using policy instruments such as taxation, sales regulation, and advertising restrictions to advance public welfare.”
The panel discussion featured Life TV Editor-in-Chief Anwar Haq, Desh TV Special Correspondent Nazrul Kabir, Ekattor TV Special Correspondent Sushanta Sinha, Green TV Executive Editor and ATMA Co-convener Nadira Kiron, and Lead Policy Advisor of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) Mustafizur Rahman.
