Public Health Experts at a Press Conference Stated,
Free treatment of heart diseases for all patients is possible
if a specific tax is imposed on tobacco product
If the proposed tobacco tax is imposed to protect public health in the upcoming fiscal year, the government will earn a revenue of around BDT 39,600 crore. Which is BDT 9,200 crores more than the last financial year. If only 4.45% of this revenue is spent on cardiovascular healthcare, all heart disease patients in the country can be treated for free, said the public health experts of the country.
The public health experts said this at a press conference held at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club on Wednesday (April 6, 2022) at 10:30 am. The Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA), Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP), and Bangladesh Cancer Society jointly organized the press conference titled ‘Tax Management of Tobacco Products to Ensure Free Heart Treatment: Possibilities and Initiatives’.
Veteran politician and Awami League Advisory Council member Muzaffar Hossain Paltu chaired the press conference while SM Abdullah, Assistant Professor of Department of Economics, Dhaka University, read out a written statement. The President of Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP) Prof. Dr. Iqbal Arslan; Project Director of Bangladesh Cancer Society, Prof. Dr. Golam Mohiuddin Farooq; and Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, Sohail Reza Chowdhury attended the conference as public health experts to answer the questions of journalists and media workers. In addition, more than 50 representatives of various anti-tobacco organizations participated in the press conference.
Speakers at the press conference said that, in Bangladesh, 67% of the medical expenses have to be borne by the citizens. Citizens are suffering financially to pay for expensive treatments like heart diseases. Bangladesh is slowly moving towards becoming a welfare state. The state is taking up various responsibilities for the welfare of the citizens. We are presenting some suggestions to set a precedent for state healthcare by ensuring free treatment of expensive diseases like heart disease. Additional revenue of almost BDT 9,200 crores can be generated if a specific tax is imposed on tobacco products, it is ensured that cigarettes are sold at the printed MRP to the consumers and if the tax evasion of tobacco companies is prevented following our proposal. Out of this 9.200 crores, only BDT 410 crores are enough to treat all patients suffering from heart related diseases.
They further added that in the upcoming fiscal year, the retail price of a 10-stick pack of low-tier cigarettes should be fixed at BDT 50 and a specific supplementary duty of BDT 32.50 should be imposed. Accordingly, the retail price of a 10-stick pack of medium-tier cigarettes should be fixed at BDT 75 and a specific supplementary duty of BDT 48.75 should be imposed; the retail price of a 10-stick pack of high-tier cigarettes should be fixed at BDT 120 with a specific supplementary duty of BDT 78; and proposed a specific supplementary duty of BDT 97.50 should be imposed on premium tier cigarettes by fixing a retail price of BDT 150 for a 10-stick pack. Besides, in the case of unfiltered bidis, it has been proposed to keep only 25-stick bidi packs in the market and not 8 and 12 stick bidi packs. However, it has been proposed to fix the retail price of the 25-stick pack at BDT 25 and to impose a specific supplementary duty of BDT 11.25. On the other hand, in the case of filtered bidis, it has been proposed to not keep the 10-stick bidi packs in the market, fix the retail price of a 20-stick bidi pack at BDT 20, and impose a specific supplementary duty of BDT 9. In the budget proposal, in the case of Zarda, it has been proposed that the retail price should be fixed at BDT 45 per 10 grams and a specific supplementary duty of BDT 27 will be imposed. And for Gul, it has been proposed that the retail price should be fixed at BDT 25 per 10 grams and a specific supplementary duty of BDT 15 should be imposed. They also proposed to retain the 15% value-added tax (VAT) and 1% health development surcharge on the retail price of all tobacco products just as before.
They further stated that a recent study conducted by the Bureau of Economic Research (BER) of Dhaka University and BNTTP had found that cigarettes were being sold at a higher price than the maximum retail price printed on cigarette packets in the market. As a result, the government is losing about BDT 5,000 crore in revenue every year due to the ill tactics of the cigarette companies.
The speakers also said that the three most expensive services for the treatment of heart disease are angiogram, stenting, and bypass surgery. At present these medical services are provided in 22 hospitals in the country. About 70% of the patients receive these medical services at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University, National Heart Institute, and National Heart Foundation. The calculation of the number of patients and the cost of these three hospitals shows that the total cost of these three services is BDT 286.61 crores which are only 3.12% of the expected additional revenue from the tobacco sector. If this number of patients is assumed as 70% of total patients, it will cost BDT 410 crore to get similar treatment for all heart patients in the country which is only 4.45% of the additional revenue.