'Death market opportunity is given in budget'

The price of cigarettes fixed for three years. But as a result of the increase in the income of the people, this budget has made the opportunity to expand the marketing of death market without increasing the price of tobacco products. Anti-tobacco organizations say, the Finance Minister fails to make effective in this time.

Anti-tobacco organization Wisdom and Anti Tobacco Media Alliance (Spirit) today announced a press release in response to the budget response. According to the Bureau of Statistics, they say that compared to 2015-16, the national average per capita income increased by 24.64 percent. But at the same time, the level of cigarettes of this level will not increase, as well as decreasing its actual value, the government is also deprived of additional revenue. No indication of achieving tobacco-free Bangladesh by the Prime Minister declared by 2040, disappointing anti-tobacco activists are not due to this budget.
The long-standing demand for anti-tobacco makers, the directive of the single tax structure and the introduction of specific tax procedures has not been reflected in the budget announcement this year. Tobacco control is not possible by tobacco companies as a means of business expansion.
The notification said that in order to encourage export of processed tobacco products in the proposed budget, 25 percent export duty imposed on tobacco products has been withdrawn, which is highly condemnable and extreme public health measures.
Among other tax proposals, the existing tax on cigarette-bidi paper has been increased from 20 percent to 25 percent and existing taxpayers of cigarette, bidi, jarda, gulas and other tobacco companies have kept the existing 45 percent corporate taxes. Apart from this, 2.5.5 percent of the surcharges available on the income earned from the taxpayer's business of all types of tobacco products.
In his budget speech, in the budget speech, since 2041, many future steps have been taken to create a tobacco-free Bangladesh, but the anti-tobacco protesters are not seeing the reflection of the budget proposal. They say that the Minister said the reduction in cigarette prices, while there are four levels in cigarette with two divisions at high level. No action was taken in the proposed budget to reduce the use of bidi. Overall, this year's budget is very disappointing for anti-tobacco users