Slap higher tax on tobacco products
Roundtable suggests hiking fine on public place smoking
Guests at a roundtable titled "Dangers of tobacco: Way forward" at the daily Prothom Alo's conference room in the city yesterday, jointly organised by the newspaper, Management and Resources Development Initiative and National Tobacco Control Cell.Photo: STAR
Experts from different sectors yesterday recommended imposing higher duties on tobacco products and raising fines to prevent smoking in public. They also advocated to accommodate pictorial warnings on tobacco products and ban cultivation and import of tobacco. The recommendations came from a roundtable, titled “Dangers of Tobacco: Way Forward”, jointly organised by daily Prothom Alo at its conference room with Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) and National Tobacco Control Cell. The speakers suggested that the government should raise the public-smoking fine to Tk 500 from Tk 50. “It's unfortunate that some of the lawmakers are lobbying against the probable tax raise on tobacco products fearing it might make the government unpopular and leave adverse effect in the next election,” said Arup Ratan Chowdhury of Birdem Hospital. Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque, the chief guest of the roundtable, denied entertaining any such lobbying. He said his ministry has already sent a proposal to the finance ministry to raise the duties on tobacco products. The speakers stressed that the government should introduce licensing system for tobacco sale and implement the existing laws strictly. Citing a 2004-study M Mostafa Zaman of World Health Organisation said tobacco causes the nation a net of loss of Tk 2,600 crore a year. The country makes Tk 2,400 crore as revenue from tobacco-related businesses, while counts Tk 5,000 crore against tobacco-caused healthcare cost, he added. Tobacco smoking has increased by two percent in 2009 from 21 percent in 2004, while consumption of tobacco, (in most cases chewed) increased by seven percent. Among others lawyer ZI Khan Panna of the Supreme Court, National Prof and General Secretary of National Heart Foundation Brig Gen (retd) Abdul Malik, Iqbal Kabir of National Acid Control Cell, Farida Akhter of UBINIG, Nigar Nargis of Dhaka University, Kazi Rafiqul Alam of Dhaka Ahsania Mission and legal expert Tanjib-ul Alam also spoke in the roundtable.
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