Implementing proposed tobacco tax reforms in the upcoming FY2026–27 national budget could prevent around 370,000 premature deaths in Bangladesh while significantly increasing government revenue, speakers said at a journalists’ workshop.
The observations came at a workshop titled “Tobacco Tax and Price Measures: Budget 2026–27,” held at the BMA Bhaban in the capital on Sunday.
The event was jointly organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), with participation from 28 journalists representing print, television, and online media outlets.
Speakers noted that users of low- and mid-tier cigarettes constitute the majority of smokers in the country, most of whom belong to low-income and working-class groups. Merging these two tiers and increasing prices would encourage low-income smokers to quit and discourage youth from initiating tobacco use.
They also emphasized that introducing a specific tax system would simplify the tax structure and improve administrative efficiency.
According to the proposals presented at the workshop for the FY2026–27 budget, the low and medium tiers should be merged, with the retail price for 10 sticks set at Tk100. The price of high-tier cigarettes is proposed to be increased from Tk140 to Tk150 per 10 sticks, while premium cigarettes would rise from Tk185 to Tk200. The supplementary duty (SD) on all tiers would remain unchanged at 67%, alongside the introduction of a specific tax of Tk4 per 10 sticks.
For bidi, experts recommended a uniform pricing and tax system for both filtered and non-filtered varieties, setting the retail price of 20 sticks at Tk30 with a 50% supplementary duty.
In the case of smokeless tobacco, the price of 10 grams of jarda is proposed to increase from Tk48 to Tk60, and gul from Tk25 to Tk30, both subject to a 60% supplementary duty.
The proposals also include imposing specific taxes on bidi, jarda, and gul at rates to be determined by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), while retaining the existing 15% VAT and 1% health development surcharge (HDS) on tobacco products.
Speakers said that if implemented, these measures could generate more than Tk85,000 crore in tobacco tax revenue—an increase of around Tk44,000 crore compared to the current fiscal year. In the long term, the reforms could help prevent approximately 370,000 premature deaths, including nearly 185,000 youths.
Additionally, about 500,000 adults are expected to quit smoking, while around 372,000 youths could be discouraged from starting.
Among those present at the workshop were Sazzadur Rahman, Deputy Editor of The Business Standard; Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener of ATMA; Nadira Kiron and Mizan Chowdhury, Co-conveners of ATMA; Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs at PROGGA; and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA.