Rural and Urban Development Organisation and Alliance for FCTC Implelemtation Bangladesh in a joint online campaign on World Tobacco Free Day have demanded to fix the minimum price of a package ( 10 sticks) of cigarette at Taka 47.
Referring the opinion of Professor Dr. Abul Barakat of Dhaka University, the chiefs of those organisations said, phases of taxes on various cigarettes should be removed and a unified taxing system for all cigarettes should be implemented.
At the same time, referring the information revealed by Professor Dr. Rumana Haque of the department of Economics of DU that imposing of 10 per cent tax on tobacco discourages five per cent of low-income group of people to decrease its use, they demanded to fix the minimum price of a package ( 10-stick package) to Taka 47 in the ensuing national Budget of 2020-2021 and to fix the taxes on cigarettes from four phases to three phases.
Sohag Ali, Coordinator of Alliance for FCTC Implementation Bangladesh informed, taking the opportunity of home-staying people throughout the country during the Coronavirus situation, some dishonest officials of Bangladesh Cigarette Manufacturers' Association were attempting to decrease the price of cigarette per package lower than Taka 37 in collusion with some dishonest officials of National Board of Revenue, Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance.
They termed such attempt to add far more deaths on tobacco use and a severe threat for public health. They further said, implementation of such anti-public health activities will thwart the tobacco control activities throughout the country.
