Bangladesh's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 has come under criticism from anti-tobacco campaigners, who warn that minimal tax increases on cigarettes and unchanged taxes on other tobacco products will make smoking more affordable and undermine public health efforts.

In a joint reaction to the budget, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) said the government's proposals fail to introduce meaningful tobacco tax reforms and miss an opportunity to raise substantial additional revenue.

The budget raises the retail price of a 10-stick pack of low-tier cigarettes by just Tk 2, from Tk 60 to Tk 62, an increase of 3.3%. According to the groups, the hike is far below Bangladesh's estimated 10.27% increase in per capita income, effectively making cigarettes cheaper in real terms.

Low-tier brands account for about 75% of Bangladesh's cigarette market, and the groups warned that lower real prices would encourage smoking among young people and low-income consumers.

The budget also leaves taxes and prices unchanged for bidis, jarda and gul, products widely used by poorer households and women. PROGGA and ATMA argued that inflation-adjusted prices for these products will fall further, increasing health risks among vulnerable groups.

The organizations proposed merging the low- and medium-tier cigarette categories, setting the price of 10 cigarettes at Tk 100 and introducing a specific tax of Tk 4 per 10 sticks in addition to the existing 67% supplementary duty.

According to their estimates, such reforms could generate an additional Tk 44,000 crore ($3.6 billion) in government revenue and prevent 400,000 premature deaths.

Bangladesh has one of the highest tobacco-use rates in South Asia, with 35.3% of adults using tobacco. Tobacco-related diseases kill around 200,000 people annually and cost the economy nearly Tk 87,000 crore ($7.1 billion) each year, the groups said.

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