As the proposed budget for FY 2025-26 has kept the prices of and tax rates on all types of tobacco products unchanged, it will, once finalized and adopted, lead to an increase in the prevalence of tobacco use and subsequently, tobacco-related deaths and significantly reduce the government’s revenue earning from tobacco sector. Since the proposed budget has also missed the opportunity to merge the low and medium tiers of cigarettes, it will continue to allow consumers to switch to cheaper cigarette brands and avoid quitting the bad habit altogether. However, the government can earn additional revenue, up to 20,000 crore from the cigarette sector, only if it adopts budget proposals raised by anti-tobacco activists.

Experts said this today (19 June 2026, Thursday) during a post-budget press conference organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA).

Citing the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), PROGGA and ATMA informed that the Per Capita Income (provisional) of the people has increased by about 11.5 in the last one year. This suggests that keeping prices unchanged will only make cigarettes more affordable and particularly encourage the youth to light up.

The proposed budget has kept the prices of bidi unchanged for the 6th consecutive time. The supplementary duty on bidi has also remained the same for the 10th consecutive time. This will make bidi business more profitable. As the prices of and taxes on smokeless tobacco, i.e., jarda and gul, remain unchanged, the affordability of these deadly products will spike, putting the poor and the women, the majority consumer of these products, under greater health threat.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), in the span of one year, prices of essential products have seen a considerable hike. The average price of soyabean oil (loose) has increased by 11.67 percent, miniket rice by 13.57 percent, writing paper (white) by 7.69 percent, rui fish by 7.35 percent and egg by 3.66 percent. In contrast, the prices of tobacco products remain unchanged in the proposed budget, which, once again, make cigarettes and other tobacco products cheaper, when compared to essential commodities.

During the event, Syed Yusuf Saadat, Research Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said, “Since the prices of low and medium tiers are too close, it allows consumers to choose between one of the tiers. As a result, the effectiveness of any tax and price measures is not working properly. The low and medium tiers should be merged and the number of tiers should be reduced to 03 (three) from existing 04 (four).”

The tax and pricing proposals for FY 2025-26 final budget presented during the event are as follows: The low and medium tiers should be merged into one and prices for 10 sticks of the merged tier should be set at BDT 90. The retail price of high-tier cigarettes should be kept at existing BDT 140 for 10 sticks. The prices for 10 sticks of premium cigarettes should be raised to BDT 190. The supplementary duty (SD) on all cigarette tiers should be the existing 67 percent.

For non-filtered bidi, the retail price should be BDT 25 for 25 sticks. In the case of filtered bidi, the retail price for 20 sticks should be set at BDT 20. Both prices should be followed by a 45 percent SD. Regarding smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be BDT 55 and BDT 30, followed by 60 percent SD. The budget proposals also suggest retaining 15 percent VAT on the retail prices of tobacco products and continuing the existing 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS).

In support of the proposals, speakers informed that budget proposals placed by anti-tobacco activists, if realized, can help the government raise a staggering BDT 20,000 crore in additional revenue, which will come in handy in reaching revenue targets and improving public health. Implementation of such proposals, in the long run, will also help prevent the premature deaths of 1.7 million Bangladeshis, including nearly 900,000 youths.

The discussants in the workshop include Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA; Mizan Chowdhury, Co-convener, ATMA; ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA, and representatives of different anti-tobacco organizations. Ms. Nadira Kiron, co-convener, ATMA hosted the event whereas Hasan Shahriar, Head of Programs, PROGGA presented budget analysis and demands.