Bangladesh: Raising Tobacco Taxes in FY 2021-2022

This Fact Sheet was developed by tobacco control partners from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, The Union, Vital Strategies, the World Health Organization and Tobacconomics. The fact sheet discusses the current tobacco tax structure in Bangladesh and presents an alternative that would improve the effectiveness of cigarette tax policy. As one of the largest tobacco consuming countries in the world, the associated health and economic costs are very high in Bangladesh. The current tax structure is multi-tiered and complex, resulting in large price variations between tobacco products. The fact sheet recommends introducing a tiered specific excise, with a uniform tax burden would reduce smoking prevalence to 14%, while increasing the revenues by nearly BDT 34 billion.