ঢাকারবিবার , ৯ অগাস্ট ২০২৬
Due to the easy availability of tobacco products in Bangladesh, the trend of tobacco use and smoking is alarmingly increasing among youth and low-income populations. To curb the accessibility of cigarettes, there is no alternative to effective taxation and price hikes. Therefore, in the upcoming National Budget for the Fiscal Year 2025-26, students and youth from across the country have demanded the reduction of the existing four-tier pricing structure of cigarettes to three tiers and the imposition of higher taxes and prices.
On the morning of May 23, 2025, a youth rally was held on Manik Mia Avenue in front of the National Parliament House, organized by the Ahsania Mission Youth Forum for Health and Wellbeing. During the rally, the youth called for effective taxation and price increases on tobacco products in the upcoming budget to protect young people’s health.
The participating students and youth stated that the current four-tier pricing structure of cigarettes—low, medium, high, and premium—weakens the tobacco tax policy. In particular, the minimal price gap between the low and medium tiers allows consumers to easily switch between tiers. In this context, merging the low and medium tiers and increasing cigarette prices would deter smoking among the poor and the youth while significantly increasing government revenue.
The proposed tobacco tax and pricing structure for the upcoming budget, as presented at the rally, includes the following:
1. Merge the low and medium tiers and set the retail price at BDT 90 per 10-stick cigarette pack.
2. Keep the retail price unchanged at BDT 140 for the high tier.
3. Set the retail price at BDT 190 per 10-stick pack for the premium tier.
4. Maintain the current supplementary duty of 67% on the retail price, 15% VAT, and 1% health development surcharge.
According to the demands presented, implementing these proposals would reduce cigarette usage from 15.1% to 13.03% in the fiscal year 2025-26. As a result, approximately 2.4 million adults would be encouraged to quit smoking, and 1.7 million youth would be prevented from initiating smoking. Additionally, government revenue is expected to increase to BDT 68,000 crore, marking a 43% rise compared to the previous year.
More than a hundred youth forum members-students from various universities, including the University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh University, and Dhaka International University, participated in the rally. Key attendees also included Md. Mukhlesur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Health Sector at Dhaka Ahsania Mission; Project Coordinator Md. Shariful Islam; and Program Officer Adut Rahman.#
