ঢাকাশনিবার , ৮ অগাস্ট ২০২৬
According to local government law, it is mandatory to obtain a license for selling tobacco and cigarettes. But since most cigarette and tobacco sellers do not have a license, they have violated the Tobacco Control Act, are selling cigarettes above the prescribed price in violation of the Consumer Rights Act, and are selling cigarettes illegally somewhere.
Despite so many violations of the law, accountability for all these tobacco and cigarette sales cannot be ensured. Cigarette companies have been using tobacco and cigarette sellers to evade taxes and violate the law, and that is why cigarette companies have been opposing registration for cigarette sales under the Tobacco Control Act.
According to the local government guidelines, 4155 licenses have been issued in 43 municipalities, from which the government has received 83 lakh 20 thousand taka in revenue; local government institutions have received 20 lakh 77 thousand taka. There are 150,000 cigarette/tobacco sellers in the country, if licensed, the government will earn a revenue of Tk 30 crore, at the same time it will be possible to prevent illicit trade and illegal tax evasion.
On September 17, 2025 at 11 am, a meeting titled “Success and Challenges of Implementing Guidelines for Tobacco Control in Local Government Institutions: Experience Sharing” was held at the meeting room of FARS Hotel in Bijoynagar under the initiative of the non-governmental organization AID Foundation under the chairmanship of Mr. Saifuddin Ahmed, Coordinator of the Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance.
The above discussion was attended by Mr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan, NDC, Director General, Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Inspection Division, Local Government Division, Mr. Md. Akhtaruz-Zaman, Director General, NTCC (Joint Secretary), Health Services Division, Mr. Mohammad Hamidur Rahman Khan, Former Senior Secretary, National Consultant, Vital Strategies, Public Health Policy Analyst, Mr. Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin. Shagufta Sultana, Project Director of AID Foundation, presented a presentation outlining the current status of the implementation of the LGI Guidelines.
The meeting was moderated by Abu Naser Anik, Senior Program Officer of AID Foundation.Representatives of various organizations working on tobacco control participated in the discussion.
