Young doctors on Saturday called for a significant increase in tobacco product prices in the upcoming national budget for fiscal year 2026–27 to protect the country’s large youth population from the harmful effects of tobacco use.
They made the demand during a human chain programme titled “Demand for Effective Tobacco Price Increase in the 2026–27 Budget to Discourage Tobacco Use Among Youths,” organised by the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh in front of the National Press Club.
Speaking at the programme, the young physicians said that Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use rate among South Asian countries at 35.3 percent, citing findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017.
The speakers said nearly 2 lakh people die prematurely every year in Bangladesh from tobacco-related diseases. They added that the health and environmental damages caused by tobacco use amounted to about Tk 87,000 crore in 2024, more than double the revenue generated from the tobacco sector.
According to the doctors, the widespread availability of cheap and easily accessible cigarettes is contributing to a rapid increase in tobacco use among young people, posing a serious threat to future generations. They argued that raising tobacco prices through effective taxation remains the most effective measure to reduce tobacco consumption.
They said effective tax measures and higher tobacco prices could encourage nearly 500,000 adult smokers to quit, while preventing more than 372,000 youths from taking up smoking.
During the programme, participants also presented a set of proposals for increasing tobacco taxes and prices in the FY2026–27 budget. They demanded that the minimum retail price of a 10-stick cigarette pack in the low- and medium-tier categories be set at Tk 100. They also proposed fixing prices at Tk 150 for high-tier cigarettes and Tk 200 for premium-tier cigarettes.
In addition, they called for the imposition of a specific tax of Tk 4 per cigarette pack across all price tiers.