Experts unhappy over minimal tax hike, legalisation of new tobacco products

The Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) and the Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) have said that the proposed national budget for the FY2026-27, placed by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the Parliament on Thursday, has failed to increase the prices of tobacco products to the desired level.

However, it has legalised two novel tobacco products by bringing them under the tax net.

In a joint statement, the two anti-tobacco platforms have warned that the legalisation of nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes and vapes), with a nominal price hike on traditional tobacco, will severely jeopardise public health.

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Prices Up, Prices Down

The statement said that that provisions to ban nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products were first excluded from the law. Now, these products have been legalised by bringing them into the tax structure, which is unexpected.

BATA and BNTTP strongly advocated for the introduction of specific taxation alongside the existing ad-valorem system to safeguard public health. However, the government chose only to marginally increase cigarette prices.

They pointed out that nearly 75% of the cigarettes sold in the market belong to the low tier. The price of this segment has been raised by a mere Tk2, or 3.3%. This nominal price hike will effectively make low-tier cigarettes more affordable and accessible.

They also expressed concern over the decision to keep the prices of bidi, jarda and gul unchanged.

Arguing that public health has been systematically ignored in the proposed budget regarding tobacco, the two platforms called upon the government to revise the budget proposal in alignment with the recommendations of tobacco control experts.