Bangladesh: Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard, 2nd Edition

The second edition of the Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard is out today and shows that governments have made insufficient progress in addressing the world’s leading cause of preventable death, despite established evidence that the most effective tool—tobacco taxation—would reduce smoking and increase revenues.

The global average cigarette tax score has barely risen over the past several years from 1.93 (out of 5.00) in 2014 to 2.28 in 2020. Overall scores have improved in 81 countries, stayed the same in 24 countries, and worsened in 48 countries. Only 75 of the 160 countries for which data are available score 2.50 or higher out of a maximum of five points.

In this edition of the Scorecard, New Zealand and Ecuador scored the highest with scores of 4.63, followed by United Kingdom and Canada, with scores of 4.38 and 4.25, respectively.

From 2018 to 2020, cigarette prices increased globally—except most notably in low-income countries, where the tobacco industry seeks to expand its market. There, average prices decreased by $Intl PPP 0.28. Lowering these prices makes cigarettes more affordable and accessible to low-income populations, especially young people.

During the same period, while average cigarette prices rose in the Americas and Western Pacific regions, the average tax share of retail price decreased. Thus, revenues that could be gained by governments through tax increases were captured by the tobacco industry. These regional gains in revenues allow the industry to lower prices in many low-income countries and maintain stable global profits while expanding their market.

Bangladesh

• Bangladesh scored 2.63 points out of 5. This is higher than the average in its region and income group, but still much lower compared to top-performing countries.
• Bangladesh performed well in the affordability change component, with an average annual reduction of 8.49% in affordability between 2014 and 2020.
• Bangladesh can improve its score by increasing the price of cigarettes, increasing the tax share of the price, and improving the tax structure.
  • The average price of a 20-cigarette pack of the most-sold brand was only 2.82 Intl$ PPP (international dollars, adjusted for purchasing power parity).
  • The total tax share of price was 73%, while the excise tax share was only 57%.
  • An ineffective tiered ad valorem excise tax system was used.

Between 2018 and 2020, Bangladesh’s score increased, largely due to a significant reduction in the affordability of cigarettes over time.

The Scorecard’s lead author, Tobacconomics Director, Frank Chaloupka said, “Despite the economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the big four multinational tobacco companies are now continuing on a business-as-usual trajectory with stable global profits. Instead of allowing the tobacco companies to capture additional profits while imposing substantial burdens on public health, governments should raise tobacco taxes.”

Following the biennial release of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2021, the Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard (2nd edition) uses the newly released data to assess countries’ cigarette tax policies with respect to consistency with the widely accepted best practices of cigarette taxation. The Scorecard is based on four key components: cigarette price, change in affordability, tax structure, and tax share of retail price. The 2021 Scorecard can be found at www.tobacconomics.org.

To read the full paper on Bangladesh, please click the download button.

Tobacco Economics