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Tag: Bangladesh

  • Bangladesh Urged to Raise Cigarette Prices

    Bangladesh Urged to Raise Cigarette Prices

    Photo: Shahadat222

    Anti-tobacco organizations are urging Bangladesh to increase cigarette prices in fiscal year 2024–2025, reports The Business Post.

    Even as the prices of essential goods have soared, cigarette prices have remained comparatively stable in Bangladesh. Over the past five fiscal years, the price of low-tier cigarettes has increased by only BDT10 ($0.09), averaging an increase of BDT2 per year. Since 2019–2020, the price of such cigarettes has increased only once, by BDT1.

    Critics say the failure to adjust cigarette prices in line with inflation has made smoking more accessible and attractive to low-income groups. Low-tier cigarettes now account for 80 percent of the cigarette market.

    Experts have suggested raising the price of a 10-stick pack of low-tier cigarettes from BDT45 to BDT60. Aligning prices with inflation, they suggest, would increase government revenue by approximately BDT100 billion.

    “Low-income individuals are the most affected by malnutrition,” said Nasrin Sultana, a professor at the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University. “Increasing the price of low-tier cigarettes would reduce the number of smokers in this demographic. This would not only decrease health risks but also enhance revenue flow even amid economic downturns.”

  • Bidi Rollers Dissatisfied With Working Conditions

    Bidi Rollers Dissatisfied With Working Conditions

    Photo: Brandy Brinson

    Many bidi rollers in Bangladesh are dissatisfied with their conditions, reports the Daily Sun.

    Eighty-four percent of participants in a study conducted by the Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP) indicated they want to change employment due to health hazards of the tobacco.

    At the same time, 95 percent of the surveyed bidi workers expressed dissatisfaction with their wages while 61 percent complained about the workload.

    The report, titled Study Report on Bidi Workers’ Livelihood in Tangail District-2023, was presented by DORP Deputy Executive Director Mohammad Zobair Hasan at the Jatiya Press Club in the Dhaka.

    “We explored the common health hazards experienced by the participants and found that the majority of them suffered from cough and sneeze while 17.1 percent suffered from abdominal pain/swelling and chest pain or gas,” Zobair Hasan said.

    Despite the reported concerns, 95 percent of survey participants indicated that they incurred no healthcare expenses over the past 12 months.

  • BEA Proposes 70 Percent Tax

    BEA Proposes 70 Percent Tax

    Image: Dmitry Chulov

    The Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) has proposed a 70 percent tax on all types of cigarettes and tobacco, according to The Business Post.

    By setting the tax as such, the BEA estimates that smoking will decrease by about 66 percent and the state will generate BDT17 billion ($154.89 million) in revenue.

    The BEA submitted the proposal to the National Board of Revenue during the pre-budget discussion. According to the BEA, the 70 percent duty would increase cigarette prices by an average of 130 percent. 

  • Tobacco Production up in Bangladesh

    Tobacco Production up in Bangladesh

    Image: Swapan

    Tobacco production is up in Bangladesh’s Lalmonirhat District following last year’s good prices, reports The Financial Express. In 2022, the price of one “mound” of Virginia tobacco leaves was between BDT6,000 ($54.71) and BDT7,000.

    According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, farmers have cultivated tobacco on 7,600 hectares of land in the district this season. Farmers suspect the actual figure is higher, given the prices on offer.

    Critics expressed concerns about the social and environmental impact of tobacco production, citing excessive use of fertilizer and crop protection agents along with the impact on workers’ health.

    “We discourage farmers and tell them about the health risks of family members, but because of the high income, they are interested in tobacco cultivation,” said Hamidur Rahaman, deputy director of the Lalmonirhat Department of Agricultural Extension.

  • Bangladesh Set to Ban Vapes

    Bangladesh Set to Ban Vapes

    Image: luzitanija

    Bangladesh is set to ban vapes and nicotine pouches, according to Filter.

    The government has been considering a vape ban since 2019 when the U.S. e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury outbreak occurred—later determined to be caused by adulterated illicit products.

    The health ministry has now drafted an amendment to Bangladesh’s Smoking and Using of Tobacco Products (Control) Act, which has been reviewed by the cabinet and must now be approved by parliament.

    If the proposed ban is approved, anyone caught vaping, regardless of nicotine content, will be subject to a fine of BDT5,000 ($46). Sales, production, import, export, storage and transportation of vapes would also be banned, with penalties starting at a higher fine, three months’ incarceration or both. Larger scale activity or repeat offenses would face longer sentences.

    The amendment would also ban flavors in tobacco products, increase the fine for smoking in public places and include further penalties for unlicensed tobacco sales.

    Organizations like the Bangladesh Medical Association support the proposed ban, equating vaping with smoking cigarettes.

    “A ban on vaping devices will have disastrous consequences for people trying to quit smoking cigarettes,” said Nafis Farhan, a member of Voice of Vapers Bangladesh. He attributed continued high smoking rates in the country to “limited availability of cessation tools, such as vapes.”

    The proposed ban represents “a missed opportunity for harm reduction and a setback for public health,” according to Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.

  • Higher Cigarette Taxes in Bangladesh

    Higher Cigarette Taxes in Bangladesh

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Cigarette manufacturers in Bangladesh will likely pay higher taxes on gross receipts from the next fiscal year as the National Board of Revenue (NBR) collects more taxes to discourage the “health hazardous” business, reports The Daily Star.

    The proposed tax increase is part of the Income Tax Bill 2023 introduced to Parliament by Finance Minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal earlier this month. The proposed bill will replace the current Income Tax Ordinance 1984.

    The new bill would have manufacturers of cigarettes, bidis or handmade cigarettes, chewing tobacco and smokeless tobacco paying a 3 percent tax on turnover at minimum, up from the current 1 percent. It would also place a flat 10 percent tax deducted at source (TDS) traders supplying tobacco leaf to tobacco companies, replacing the multiple rates of TDS.

    “We have proposed a hike in tax rates to discourage tobacco use,” said a senior official of the NBR.

    “We appreciate the NBR for responding positively to the call of raising tobacco taxes by the social activists,” said Atiur Rahman, chairperson of the think tank Unnayan Shamannay.

  • Proposed Increase in E-Cig Import Duties

    Proposed Increase in E-Cig Import Duties

    Image: johan10 | Adobe Stock

    Bangladesh Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal proposed a significant increase in import duties on e-cigarettes and their parts in the proposed budget for the 2023–2024 fiscal year, reports the Dhaka Tribune.

    The import duty on e-cigarettes will be raised from 5 percent to 25 percent, and for parts of electric cigarettes, the duty will be increased by 100 percent. Previously, there was no import duty on the parts of electric cigarettes.

    The minister has also suggested a 150 percent additional duty on liquid nicotine and transdermal nicotine.

    The proposed measures aim to increase import duties and make importation of e-cigarettes and related components more expensive in an effort to regulate their use and reduce their prevalence.

  • BAT to Upgrade Bangladesh Factory

    BAT to Upgrade Bangladesh Factory

    Image: Piotr Pawinski

    British American Tobacco Bangladesh plans to invest BDT607 million ($5.65 million) in equipment and a centralized uninterrupted power supply device, reports The Daily Star.

    In Dhaka Stock Exchange filing, the multinational company said its board has approved the investment decision.

     The company will use the money to purchase winnower tobacco recovery equipment, a hinge-lid cigarette making and packing line, and a centralized uninterrupted power supply device.

    The investment would enhance the capacity and productivity of the company and would be funded from internal sources and bank financing, the filing said.

  • Bangladesh Urged Against Interference

    Bangladesh Urged Against Interference

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Bangladesh should monitor the tobacco industry’s attempts to influence the formulation and implementation of graphic health warnings, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control, reports United News of Bangladesh.  

    The study, “Tobacco Industry Interference to Undermine the Development and Implementation of Graphic Health Warnings in Bangladesh,” examines the tobacco industry’s efforts to “delay and weaken” the implementation of graphic health warnings in Bangladesh.  

    The Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers’ Association was the most active industry actor in “interfering” with the process, according to the study, while BAT Bangladesh was most active and the only company that acted alone to thwart graphic health warning implementation.

    The study urges the government to adopt the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s Article 5.3 guidelines and make their implementation a policy priority.   

  • Vape Group Calls for Stakeholder Input

    Vape Group Calls for Stakeholder Input

    Image: Vlad | Adobe Stock

    The Bangladesh Electronic Nicotine-Delivery System Traders Association (BENDSTA) called on authorities to consult with all stakeholders before making any policy decisions on vaping, reports The Business Standard.

    During a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday, the organization also called for excluding vaping and other electronic nicotine-delivery system products from the proposed amendment of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Control Act 2005, according to a press release.

    The BENDSTA fears that a ban on vaping will jeopardize the prime minister’s vision of making the country tobacco-free by 2040.

    Many former smokers who successfully quit smoking cigarettes using vaping devices might resort back to smoking traditional cigarettes again if vaping gets banned in the country, the organization warned.

    Not only will this increase the number of smokers in the country, but the government will also lose the opportunity to balance its health and revenue agenda from an emerging sector, BENDSTA speakers said.

    BENDSTA President Masud Uz Zaman criticized the country’s health authorities for not including the association as relevant stakeholders in the process of developing such a crucial policy framework.

    “If any amendment is proposed regarding vaping, we are definitely an important stakeholder. It is unreasonable to not take our opinion and completely exclude us from the lawmaking process. Despite sending letters to the Ministry of Health repeatedly, they have refrained to sit with us to discuss the issue,” Zaman said.

    Zaman stressed that these tobacco harm reduction products should be made legal and regulated sensibly to achieve the prime minister’s vision of a tobacco-free nation.

    The proposed amendments called for a total ban on vaping products.