Anti-tobacco groups demand increase in prices, taxes to fight COVID-19

The anti-tobacco organisations have demanded hike in prices and taxes of tobacco products in the upcoming national budget for 2020-21 fiscal year.

They revealed four-point proposal on Sunday saying these will help the government save lives by reducing the number of smokers and consumers of other tobacco products.

These will prevent 6 million premature deaths in the long run, encourage nearly 2 million current adult smokers to quit and at the same time reduce the risk of death from coronavirus infection.

Implementation of the proposals will raise up to Tk 110 billion in additional revenues that may come in handy to bear coronavirus-related medical expenses and implementation of stimulus packages, they said in a statement.

The four proposals are:

>> Introducing a two-tier pricing system in place of four tiers so that the customers cannot switch between slabs and brands.

>> Elimination of price distinction between filtered cigarette and non-filtered bidis.

>> Increase the price of smokeless tobacco such as jarda and gul.

>> Impose a 3 percent surcharge on retail prices of all tobacco products.

Anti-tobacco groups ACD and YPSA, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, National Heart Foundation, TABINAJ and BITA made the proposals in a joint initiative by PROGGA and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance or ATMA.

Economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the convener of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform, Naznin Ahmed, senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Mahfuz Kabir, research director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, and AAMS Arefin Siddique, former vice chancellor of the University of Dhaka, among other distinguished citizens, threw their support behind the proposals.