DHAKA, Sept 5, 2018 (BSS) – Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal here today said taking effective fiscal measures to increase tax on tobacco products is an urgent to stop tobacco use in the country aiming to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The tax rate on tobacco products in Bangladesh is comparatively lower than other countries. We have to increase tax in next budget. The Prime Minister is serious in this regard and we should work together to remove tobacco use to achieve SDGs,” he said.
The Planning Minister made the remarks while addressing a function on ‘Tobacco Industry Interference index: Report on implementation of FCTC Article 5.3′ at Cirdap arranged by PROGGA, an anti-tobacco organisation, and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA).
Speaking as the chief guest, Kamal said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced a long-term goal at the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on SDGs to make Bangladesh free from tobacco by 2040.
He stressed the need for creating mass awareness about the adverse consequences of tobacco consumption.
“We have to engage people in anti-tobacco movement and should take preventive steps for building a tobacco-free country,” the Planning Minister said.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, former President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, said Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on tobacco industry must be discouraged. “We do not want this kind of FDI on tobacco industry as we cannot inspire deaths,” he added.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique said tobacco products are very cheap and available in Bangladesh and that is why foreign companies want to invest in tobacco business here.
“We have to raise awareness among mass people, particularly our school going children. The consequences of tobacco consumption should be inserted in textbooks,” he said.
Abul Kalam Azad, chief coordinator for SDGs affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, said cigarette is comparatively costly in India, so the prices of cigarettes and bidi must be increased by raising tax to achieve SDGs.
The study report unveiled at the function said the overall tobacco control activities of the country, in particular measures to reduce the demand and supply of tobacco, are being hampered by repeated interference of tobacco industry.
ATMA convener Mortuza Haider Liton, Bangladesh grants manager of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) Dr Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan and PROGGA coordinator Md Hasan Shahriar also spoke at the function.