One of the main reasons for the widespread availability of tobacco products in Bangladesh is its flawed and complex tax structure. This has led to an alarming rise in smoking among youth and low-income populations. Effective taxation and price hikes on cigarettes are now a pressing need. To address this, young doctors across the country have called for a reduction in the existing four-tier cigarette price structure to three tiers and an increase in prices in the upcoming 2025–26 fiscal budget.
These demands were voiced today, Thursday (22 May 2025), during a human chain organized by the Sandhani Central Committee in collaboration with the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh at the premises of the National Press Club. Over a hundred young doctors studying at various medical colleges in the country participated in the event.
Speaking at the event, the participating doctors stated that the current four-tier pricing system—low, medium, high, and premium—undermines effective tobacco tax policy. Specifically, the minimal price gap between the low and medium tiers makes it easy for consumers to switch between them. They argued that merging the low and medium tiers and increasing their prices would deter smoking among low-income groups and the youth, while significantly increasing government revenue.
The young doctors proposed the following tax and price structure for the upcoming budget: merge the low and medium tiers and set the retail price at BDT 90 per 10-stick cigarette pack; keep the high tier unchanged at BDT 140 per 10-stick pack; set the premium tier at BDT 190 per 10-stick pack. They also proposed maintaining the current rates of supplementary duty (67%), VAT (15%), and the health development surcharge (1%) on retail prices.
The doctors further recommended raising the prices of bidis and other tobacco products. They demanded that the retail price of a 25-stick unfiltered bidi pack be set at BDT 25, and that of a 20-stick filtered bidi pack at BDT 20, with a 45% supplementary duty. For smokeless tobacco products, they proposed a retail price of BDT 55 for 10 grams of zarda and BDT 30 for 10 grams of gul, with a 60% supplementary duty.
Speaking at the event, Md. Abdullah Al Noman, Publicity Secretary of Sandhani East West Medical and Update Dental College Unit, said, “Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use rate in South Asia at 35.3%, largely because tobacco products are more affordable here than in neighboring countries. Raising taxes will make them less accessible to the youth. Implementing these proposals could generate an additional BDT 20,000 crore in revenue, reduce smoking rates, and save lives’’ he added.
Dr. Saklayen Russell, Associate Professor and Head of Vascular Surgery at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital, stated, “If our recommendations are adopted, the smoking rate could fall from 15.1% to 13.03% next fiscal year. This could encourage 2.4 million adults to quit smoking and prevent 1.7 million youth from starting. At the same time, government revenue could rise to BDT 68,000 crore, a 43% increase from the previous year.”
Also present at the event were Dr. Aruna Sarkar, Coordinator of the National Heart Foundation’s Tobacco Control Program; Senior Communication Officer Abu Jafor; and Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua, advisor to the Sandhani Central Committee along with over a hundred young doctors from various medical colleges across the country.