The government should impose high tax on tobacco products to rein in soaring consumption of the harmful products for the sake of public health, said speakers at a discussion meeting yesterday.
They also recommended introducing uniform tax for all cigarette brands, as the existing four-tier tax system based on the pricing is discriminatory and offers scopes for tax evasion.
They said a large number of tobacco consumers are from lower income groups, so an increase in income tax does not affect them. As a result, tobacco consumption sees rapid growth every year.
The observations came at a policy dialogue styled "Tobacco: Is there a way out?" at the conference centre of The Daily Star in the capital.
The Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI), a non-profit organisation engaged in social development activities, and The Daily Star jointly organised the event with support from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll.
Ruling party lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor urged psychologists to conduct a research into the psyche of the young generations to know why they take up smoking habit.
The popular actor said tobacco farmers should be given incentives to help them switch to farming of alternative crops.
Noor also said the government should make a policy to stop the use of tobacco.
Mirza AB Azizul Islam, former finance adviser of the caretaker government, said taxation is not the only way to discourage tobacco consumption.
He said there are, however, enough scopes to increase tax on the tobacco products.
The argument that the prices of tobacco should be kept low considering the low per capita income of the country is not acceptable, said Azizul Islam.
He called for a comprehensive policy involving social, fiscal, administrative, legislative and enforcement-related issues to reduce tobacco consumption.
“We also need to strengthen the social movement against tobacco and build people's awareness,” Azizul Islam said.
He said alternative income opportunities for the tobacco farmers should be created simultaneously.
National Professor M A Malek said there is no way but to increase tax on tobacco.
He said the number of tobacco users and government's revenue from the sector are increasing. “It means that we are failing to inform people about its harmful effects.”
Muhammad Abdul Mazid, former chairman of National Board of Revenue, said the consumption of tobacco products has not declined even though their prices went up.
He said the number of users is increasing due to the rise in population. “But we are not campaigning against tobacco use properly.”
Mazid, also the chief coordinator of Bangladesh Diabetic Samity, said farmers must be rehabilitated with the money collected in taxes on tobacco products.
In her presentation, Nigar Nargis, assistant professor of economics department of Dhaka University, said the annual spending for tobacco-related illnesses in Bangladesh has been estimated at Tk 50.9 billion including Tk 5.8 billion for passive smoking.
She said empirical evidence from around the world suggests that the notions against raising tobacco tax are myths. “Tax increase on tobacco serves the dual purpose of revenue generation and public health promotion.”
“There is no controversy regarding the necessity of raising tax on tobacco to combat the tobacco epidemic,” she said.
Nargis said cigarette and bidi taxes have remained static for a decade. “These need to be revised every year. Tax increase will reduce the affordability of tobacco products.”
Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said time has come to look at the tobacco consumption and the industry developed with it from policy point of view.
“We have to look at how we can bring people out of this bad habit.” he said.
He said it is true that the government is earning revenue from the sector, but at the same time it is also true that the government is being compelled to spend a lot for public health.
Barrister Tanjib-ul Alam said there are legal barriers to introducing flat taxes. “We have to correct those first.”
M Mostafa Zaman, national professional officer of World Health Organisation, said Bangladesh has to spend for public health twice the money it earns from the tobacco sector.
The country burns 1.4 percent of its gross national product (GDP) through smoking cigarettes and bidis. “There is no economic benefit of the sector.”
Mostafa said there should not be any layers while fixing tax of cigarettes.
Iqbal Kabir, coordinator of National Tobacco Control Cell of the health and family affairs ministry, said a silent disease is killing thousands of people every year. He also said the use of tobacco products will go down if taxes are increased.
Taifur Rahman, advocacy and media coordinator of Campaign for Tobacoo-free Kids, said tobacco products in the country are the cheapest in the world. “But we do not see any tax rise.”
He urged politicians not to buy excuses of the lobbyist groups that said smuggling would go up and employment of thousands of people would be at stake if taxes are increased.
Aminul Islam Sujon, project coordinator of WBB Trust, said Bangladesh would not be able to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health and nutrition if it fails to contain the rise of tobacco use.
D Net Executive Director Ananya Raihan said Bangladesh would be able to earn $7.5 billion in the next 15 years if taxes on tobacco are doubled.
Iqbal Masud, coordinator of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, said the prices of tobacco products are much higher in the neighbouring countries than those of Bangladesh. “So, it may not be true that Bangladesh will be flooded with smuggled products if taxes are hiked.”
Noted journalist Farid Hossain, who moderated the discussion meeting, said political will is crucial in the fight against tobacco.
Sharier Khan, deputy editor of The Daily Star, said “more taxes mean more revenue” should not be the focus of the anti-tobacco drive.
Nazrul Haque, deputy director of Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes; MM Fazlul Haque, additional commissioner of NBR and Hasibur Rahman, executive director of MRDI, also spoke at the discussion.
News Source: The Daily Star