Proposed Budget to Decrease Tobacco Products’ Real Prices and Hike Use among the Poor and the Youth
The proposed budget, if finally adopted and realized, will increase the use of tobacco products among the poor and the youth. It will hike health expenditure and deprive the government of additional revenue. The proposed budget for FY 2022-23 failed to take into account any of the demands raised by anti-tobacco organizations, and is in grave conflict with the Honorable Prime Minister's vision for a tobacco-free Bangladesh. The proposed budget raises the price for 10 sticks of low-tier cigarettes by only Tk. 1, setting the price at Tk. 40. It shows only a 2.56 percent increase in this tier. Such an increase is negligible considering the fact that the National Per Capita Income (Nominal) has increased by nearly 10 percent. As a result of this budgetary measure, the real price of cigarett...