Introduction Bangladesh is one of the countries in the world where tobacco products are available at low prices. As a result, the rate of smoking among young people is increasing alarmingly. At the same time, the death toll from tobacco-related diseases is on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco products, including bidi-cigarette […]

BNTTP

BER, DU

Background Bangladesh has a complex multi-tiered ad-valorem excise tax system for tobacco products.[1] Though we have high rates of taxes imposed on tobacco products, the prices of these products are still very low and quite affordable to the general public. One benefit of using an ad valorem excise tax structure from a revenue perspective is […]

BNTTP

Rumana Huque and Ishrat Zahan Aishi

Introduction Bangladesh is one of the countries in the world where tobacco products are available at low prices. As a result, the rate of smoking among young people is increasing alarmingly. At the same time, the death toll from tobacco-related diseases is on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco products, including bidi-cigarette […]

BER, DU

বিশ্বব্যাপী অকাল মৃত্যু এবং রোগের অন্যতম প্রধান কারণ হলো তামাক ও তামাকজাত পণ্যের ব্যবহার। “তামাক সম্পর্কিত রোগের কারণে বিশ্বব্যাপী প্রতিবছর প্রায় ৫৪ লাখ মানুষ মারা যাচ্ছে। আশক্ষা করা হচ্ছে যে, ২০০০ সাল নাগাদ বিশ্বব্যাপী তামাক সম্পর্কিত রোগের কারণে বার্ষিক মৃত্যু সংখ্যা বেড়ে গিয়ে প্রায় ৮০ লাখে পৌঁছবে। যদি তামাকপণ্য ব্যবহারে কোনো নিয়ন্ত্রণ ব্যবস্থা আরোপ না […]

মারুফ আহমেদ

Abstract: Bangladesh is the world’s eighth largest cigarette market, with annual volumes exceeding 86 billion units and a growth rate of 2%.1 One of the most effective ways to increase government revenues while also decreasing tobacco consumption is through strong tax policy.2 In Bangladesh, a value added tax (VAT) on cigarettes was first introduced in […]

BNTTP

Sushanta kumar singha

Background A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that significantly increasing cigarette prices via cigarette tax increases is the most effective way to reduce cigarette smoking in addition to producing higher tax revenue. In Bangladesh, the complicated tiered ad valorem cigarette tax system, with a low base price for each tier, has made tobacco tax a […]

Effect of Introducing a New Low-Tier Cigarette Brand on Cigarette Tax Revenue in Bangladesh

Md. Nazmul Hossain, S M Abdullah, Dr. Rumana Huque

Background Taxing tobacco is among the most effective measures of tobacco control. However, in a tiered market structure where multiple tiers of taxes coexist, the anticipated impact of tobacco taxes on consumption is complex. This paper investigates changing smoking behaviour in lieu of changing prices and changing income. The objective of the paper is to evaluate […]

The Impact of Income and Taxation in a Price-Tiered Cigarette Market: findings from the ITC Bangladesh Surveys

Iftekharul Huq, Nigar Nargis, Damba Lkhagvasuren, AKM Ghulam Hussain, and Geoffrey T Fong

Tobacco control poses a major public policy concern and challenge in Bangladesh, which has one of the world highest rates of tobacco use. Over 46 million adults (43% of all adults) consume some form of tobacco, whether smoked or smokeless. Alarmingly, youth tobacco use has also been on the rise in Bangladesh with an estimated […]

World Bank

World Bank

Abstract: The study estimates the economic issues related to tobacco. Cigarette and bidi production in Bangladesh have been increasing since 1980. Imports and exports have fluctuated, but there is a persistent negative trade balance in tobacco and tobacco products. Recent prevalence trends are not clear, but remain over 40% among men. National statistics put smoking […]

Appetite for Nicotine

Ali, Zulfiqar; Rahman, Atiur; Rahman, Taifur

This Policy Brief was written by the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The policy brief assesses the impact of the recently approved National Budget for fiscal year 2022-23, compared to the alternative proposal developed by tobacco control experts (learn more here). The reform slightly increases cigarette prices while maintaining the […]

Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka

বিশ্ব স্বাস্থ্য সংস্থার তথ্য অনুযায়ী, বাংলাদেশে সবচেয়ে বেশি সংখ্যক মানুষ মারা যায় হৃদরোগ ও স্ট্রোকের কারণে। বর্তমানে দেশে সাধারণত শহুরে জীবনে যথেষ্ট পরিমাণ শারীরিক পরিশ্রম না করার ফলে ডায়বেটিস, হার্টের রোগ, স্ট্রোক, প্যারালাইসিসের ঝুঁকি বাড়ছে। পাশাপাশি শরীরে কোলস্টোরেলের মাত্রাও বাড়ছে। একইসঙ্গে ধূমপানের কারণে খাদ্যনালী, জিহ্বা, ফুসফুস, বৃহদান্ত্রে ক্যান্সারের ঝুঁকিসহ মস্তিষ্কের রক্তনালী ব্লক হয়ে স্ট্রোক হওয়ার […]

বাংলাদেশে তামাকজাত দ্রব্য থেকে অতিরিক্ত রাজস্ব আয়ে হৃদরোগ চিকিৎসার ব্যয় সংকুলান

BER and BNTTP

Introduction Bangladesh is one of the countries in the world where tobacco products are available at low prices. As a result, the rate of smoking among young people is increasing alarmingly. At the same time, the death toll from tobacco-related diseases is on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco products, including bidi-cigarette […]

Ibrahim Khalil

This Policy Brief was written by Advancement Through Research and Knowledge (ARK) Foundation in Bangladesh. The researchers estimate that the total price elasticity of demand for cigarettes is -0.71. A 10% increase in the price of cigarettes would reduce smoking by 7.1 percent, meaning that cigarette demand is inelastic. The elasticity of smoking prevalence and […]

Professor Dr. Rumana Huque, Mr. S M Abdullah, Mr. Md. Nazmul Hossain

This Report was written by Advancement Through Research and Knowledge (ARK) Foundation in Bangladesh. The researchers estimate that the total price elasticity of demand for cigarettes is -0.71. A 10% increase in the price of cigarettes would reduce smoking by 7.1 percent, meaning that cigarette demand is inelastic. The elasticity of smoking prevalence and intensity […]

Professor Dr. Rumana Huque, Mr. S M Abdullah, Mr. Md. Nazmul Hossain

Increase in revenue from smokeless tobacco after budget: The Reality. please see the document in Bengali below.

TCRC

Tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death and disabilities posing major threats to public health. According to a study by the Bangladesh Cancer Society & Dhaka University, in 2018 more than 126 thousand people died from tobacco-related diseases and Bangladesh lost BDT 30570 crore as a health cost to treat tobacco-related diseases. In […]

Bureau of Economic Research (BER), University of Dhaka

The philosopher and world famous traveler Ibn Battuta wrote his book “The Traveler of Ibn Battuta” regarding using batel leaf traditionally in the subcontinent. But he not indicates to use tobacco with the batel leaf on his book.  However, once upon a time the use of Jorda, Gul, Sadapapat, Khaini, was as part of the […]

Markets of Smokeless Tobacco Products: Challenges and Way Forward

TCRC

Background and challenges to implementation: Bidi is one of the major tobacco products consumed in Bangladesh with about 65,000 people directly employed in 117 bidi factories in the country. Along with their some associate labor, a significant proportion of these workers is children. In this context, it is important to explore the child labor situation in bidi factories to […]

S kumar singha

Tobacco plant is diseases prone and requires much chemical fertilizers, pesticides and enormous care. Yet, since the liberation tobacco cultivation has become an important part of agriculture in Bangladesh thanks to its promotion by the British American Tobacco Company. Kushtia is one of the major tobacco growing areas of Bangladesh. This paper aims to find […]

Md. Juel Rana Kutub and Nishat Falgunee

The impacts of tobacco cultivation on traditional agro-practices and knowledge, food security, agro-biodiversity and socio-economic conditions of a remote hilly tribal community of Bangladesh were investigated. Sixty per cent households were found practicing shifting cultivation compared with 10 yrs back changing local food availability. Local crop varieties were being lost due to low cultivation and […]

Mohammad Abdul Motaleb & Haseeb Md Irfanullah

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) is a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) and tracking key tobacco control indicators. GATS is a nationally representative survey, using a consistent and standard protocol across countries, including Bangladesh. GATS enhances countries’ capacity to design, implement and evaluate tobacco control programs. It will […]

Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017

Deaths caused by tobacco are not acceptable. In Bangladesh, 57 thousand people die and about 400 thousand become disabled due to tobacco every year. If the current trend of tobacco-related deaths continues, the annual death toll will reach 10 million by 2030, out of which seven (07) million will be in developing countries like Bangladesh, […]

Work for better Bangladesh Trust published this publication on Prevention of Tobacco Tax Evasion: “Law and Policy Review”. Please read the full publication in Bengali.   তামাকজাত দ্রব্যের কর ফাঁকি রোধ “আইন ও নীতি পর্যালোচনা” তামাকের কর বাড়ানোর বিষয়টি উত্থাপিত হলেই তামাক কোম্পানীগুলো চোরাচালান এবং কর ফাঁকির বিষয় সামনে এনে কর বৃদ্ধির বিরোধীতা করে। অথচ, […]

Methun Baidya and Syed Mahbubul Alam

Abstract Though there is a tendency among teenagers to not care about the adverse effect of tobacco but long-term smoking causes a serious problem in health. The objective of this study is to explore the prevalence, perception and awareness of minors and adolescents on cigarette selling and buying in Bangladesh. In this study, a quantitative […]

The Journal of Social Sciences Research

Md Al Amin, Md Nazirul Islam Sarker, Md Altab Hossin, Most Nasrin and Nazmul Huda

The second round of GATS (GATS 2017) aimed to systematically monitor adult tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) and track key tobacco control interventions since the first GATS survey in 2009 in Bangladesh. To read the full documents on the Global Adult Tobacco Survey Bangladesh Report 2017, please click the download button.

Executive summary Bangladesh was one of the first countries both to sign and to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2016 pledged the commitment of her government to work towards full compliance with the WHO FCTC and stated that overhauling tobacco taxation was high on the agenda as […]

World Bank Group

ABSTRACT Background Tobacco tax increase is considered as one of the most effective means to reduce tobacco consumption and its consequences. An increase in taxes, which results in an increase in the price of tobacco products, reduces consumption. Historically, a number of studies estimated the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price—the price […]

Nasiruddin Ahmed , Tanvir Ahmed Mozumder, Md. Tariq Hassan and Rumana Huque

The study details the present structure of tobacco taxes in Bangladesh estimates the own- and cross-price elasticities of demand for tobacco products, and simulates the impact of cigarette tax increases on government revenue and public health with the goal of recommending an effective tobacco tax policy for Bangladesh. To examine the tobacco tax structure, the […]

Nasiruddin Ahmed, Jahangir Hossain, Rumana Huque, Md. Tariq Hassan and Tanvir Ahmed Mozumder

Introduction Tobacco is one of the greatest risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Globally smoking, chewing tobacco, and exposure to secondhand smoke together were responsible for the loss of 8.7 million lives and 230 million disability-adjusted life years in 2019. The global economic cost of smoking-attributable diseases from […]

Nigar Nargis, Golam Mohiuddin Faruque, Maruf Ahmed, Iftekharul Huq, Rehana Parven, Syed Naimul Wadood, AKM Ghulam Hussain and Jeffrey Drope

প্রারম্ভিক: জনস্বাস্থ্য রক্ষায় তামাক পণ্যের উপর কর বৃদ্ধি তামাক নিয়ন্ত্রণের অন্যতম প্রধান উপায় হিসেবে সারা বিশ্বে সুপরিচিত। তামাকপণ্যের কর বৃদ্ধি একই সাথে ব্যবহারকারীর সংখ্যা কমাতে যেমন কার্যকর, তেমনি দেশে রাজস্ব বৃদ্ধি করতে সহায়তা করে। গ্লোবাল এ্যাডাল্ট টোব্যাকো সার্ভে ২০১৭ এর তথ্যানুযায়ী, বাংলাদেশে মোট প্রায় ৩ কোটি ৭৮ লক্ষ (৩৫.৩%) মানুষ তামাক ব্যবহার করে। এর মধ্যে […]

বাজেট পরর্বতী জর্দ্দার মূল্য বৃদ্ধি সংক্রান্ত গবেষণার ফলাফল

In step with the country’s notable recent tobacco taxation reforms, Bangladesh is taking action to fight the illicit tobacco trade. Bangladesh currently has a low estimated illicit cigarette trade incidence (2 percent), compared to estimated global rates of 10-12 percent. Annual revenue losses from illicit cigarette trade are about Taka 8 billion ($100 million), or […]

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF COUNTRY EXPERIENCES

Sadiq Ahmed, Zaidi Sattar, and Khurshid Alam

The effectiveness of tax increase in reducing tobacco use depends on the extent to which the industry passes on the tax to consumers. Evidence suggests that tobacco industry may absorb or raise the price more than the tax increase depending on the price segment of tobacco products. In this paper, we examined the industry’s pricing […]

Tobacco industry pricing undermines tobacco tax policy: A tale from Bangladesh

Nigar Nargis, A.K.M. Ghulam Hussain, Mark Goodchild, Anne C.K. Quah, Geoffrey T. Fong

Tobacco companies have used their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes to get closer to policymakers, government officials and administration in order to exploit “connection to extract different benefits and to interfere in tobacco control activities”, anti-tobacco group Knowledge for Progress said citing a survey report. In addition, the companies have publicised their CSR activities as […]

The effectiveness of a tax increase in reducing tobacco use depends on the extent to which the industry passes on the tax to consumers. Evidence suggests that the tobacco industry may absorb or raise the price more than the tax increase (over-shift) depending on the brand segment of tobacco products. Very little is known about […]

The tobacco industry uses pricing to undermine tobacco tax policy: Evidence from Bangladesh

Nigar Nargis, A.K.M. Ghulam Hussain, Mark Goodchild, Anne C.K. Quah and Geoffrey T. Fong

This study followed the cost-of-illness approach to estimate the economic cost of the adverse health effects of tobacco use (Rice, Hodgson, Sinsheimer, Browner, & Kopstein, 1986). In this study, we estimated the economic cost for seven tobacco-related diseases, namely, ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and […]

Nigar Nargis, Jeffrey Drope and Gregg Haifley

দক্ষিণ এশীয় স্পীকারদের শীর্ষ সম্মেলন টেকসই উন্নয়ন লক্ষ্য (এসডিজি) অর্জন সমাপন অনুষ্ঠান ভাষণ মাননীয় প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা প্যান প্যাসিফিক সোনারগাঁও হোটেল, ঢাকা, রবিবার, ১৮ মাঘ ১৪২২, ৩১ জানুয়ারি ২০১৬ বিসমিল্লাহির রাহমানির রাহিম   আইপিইউ-এর সম্মানিত সভাপতি জনাব সাবের হোসেন চৌধুরী, শ্রীলঙ্কার পার্লামেন্টের ডেপুটি স্পীকার থিলাঙ্গা সুমাথিপলা, আফগানিস্তানের ওলেসি জিগরার স্পীকার আব্দুল রউফ ইব্রাহিম, ভুটানের জাতীয় […]

২০১৬ সালে দক্ষিণ এশীয় স্পীকারদের শীর্ষ সম্মেলনে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর দেয়া ভাষণ

Background: Taxing tobacco is among the most effective measures of tobacco control. However, in a tiered market structure where multiple tiers of taxes coexist, the anticipated impact of tobacco taxes on consumption is complex. This paper investigates changing smoking behaviour in lieu of changing prices and changing income. The objective of the paper is to […]

The Impact of Income and Taxation in a PriceTiered Cigarette Market

Iftekharul Huq, Nigar Nargis, Damba Lkhagvasuren, AKM Ghulam Hussain & Geoffrey T Fong

SOUTH ASIAN SPEAKER’S SUMMIT ON ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) CLOSING SESSION Speech by Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina Honorable Prime Minister Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, Dhaka, Sunday, 18 Magh 1422, 31 January 2016 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim President of IPU and Chair of the Session Mr. Saber Hossain […]

Bangladesh has achieved a high share of tax in the price of cigarettes (greater than the 75% benchmark), but has not achieved the expected health benefits from reduction in cigarette consumption. In this paper we explore why cigarette taxation has not succeeded in reducing cigarette smoking in Bangladesh. Using government records over 2006–2017, we link […]

A decade of cigarette taxation in Bangladesh

Nigar Nargis, AKM Ghulam Hussain, Mark Goodchild, Anne CK Quahd & Geoffrey T Fong

What is the extent of health hazard and economic loss caused by tobacco? Findings of a recent study are quite alarming. Tobacco users’ risk of developing three major types of cancer — lung, larynx and mouth — is 109 percent higher than non-users’, according to the study. Their risk of developing seven life-threating diseases — […]

The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Bangladesh by Abul Barkat, Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury, Nigar Nargis, Mashfiqur Rahman, Md. Shahnewaz Khan, Ananda Kumar Pk., Sharmina Bashir, and Frank J. Chaloupka. 2012.

The report consist of a political mapping was conducted by Management and resource development Initiative (MRDI) involving different stakeholders to develop a coordinated communication strategy to know how to best change tobacco control policy in Bangladesh. The assessment report was submitted to Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids (CTFK)

Report on Assessment Study

An overview of key issues that most societies and policymakers face when they contemplating tobacco control. WHO and World Bank jointly prepared this report from the 10th World conference in 1997 on Tobacco in Beijing, China, assesses the expected consequence of tobacco control for health, economies and for individuals.

Curbing the Epidemic

Tobacco use is one of the single biggest causes of death worldwide. It kills more than 5 million people per year – more than TB, AIDS and malaria combined (source: WHO 2008), and deaths are rising. Many deaths and much disease could be prevented by reducing smoking prevalence.

Tobacco Control-Why is Reducing Use of Tobacco a Priority?

This report presents key findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project) Bangladesh Waves 1-3 (2009-2012) Survey in relation to tobacco price and taxation issues.

ITC Final Bangladesh Price and Tax May 2014

This publication is a trend analysis in affordability of tobacco products in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2015. The study uses nationally representative individual level cohort data from the international Tobacco Control (ITC) Bangladesh Survey.

ITCBD Affordability Apr 29 2016 ITC

This report illustrates economic engagement of tobacco in Bangladesh and how tobacco taxation can play a vital role in curbing the costs borne by tobacco consumption

Tobacco and Tobacco taxation in Bangladesh