Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Chief Whip of the Opposition and General Secretary of the National Party, has announced that the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 will prioritize increasing taxes and prices on all tobacco products. He conveyed this message during a meeting with representatives of the Ahshania Mission in Dhaka on Monday afternoon at the National Party’s central office.
During this time, He further stated that there is no alternative but to increase taxes and prices on all tobacco products, including cigarettes, in the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, in order to enhance public health protection and generate additional revenue.
In the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, effective measures will ensure that nearly 47 billion taka revenue will be generated solely from the cigarette category of tobacco products. Approximately 1.5 million adults will be encouraged to refrain from smoking, and around 1 million youths will be discouraged from starting smoking.
Mokhlesur Rahman, Deputy Director of the Health Sector, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and coordinators of the Tobacco Control Project, and other representatives were present at that time.