Activists demand heavy tax on all tobacco products

RANGPUR, May 12 (BSS): Anti-tobacco activists at a meeting on Saturday laid emphasis on imposing heavy taxation on all tobacco products to discourage consumption for saving thousands of human lives annually.

They also demanded for enactment of a single tax policy for tobacco products to replace the present tariff system and slab-based taxation methods on tobacco products to impose heavy flat taxation on all tobacco products.

They came up with the opinion at the Rangpur regional meeting of Anti Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) arranged by the organisation with assistance of Association for Community Development (ACD) at its regional office in the city.

The ATMA member-journalists of the print, electronic and online media from Rangpur region participated in the meeting with its central committee member and Rangpur Correspondent of the ATN News and ATN Bangla Mahbubul Islam in the chair.

Regional committee members of ATMA Joynal Abedin, Merina Lovely, Manik Sarker, SM Piyal, Moynul Islam, ABS Litan, Dilip Roy, Milan Patwary, addressed, among others.

Project Coordinator of ACD Ehsanul Haque Emon delivered the keynote speech in the meeting narrating the severe consequences of consuming both smoking and smokeless tobacco products and present taxation structures on tobacco precuts.

Citing latest survey of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Emon said around one lakh people are embracing death annually from tobacco-attributable diseases in Bangladesh.

"Over 42 million people are consuming tobacco products for lower price in Bangladesh and consumers of smokeless tobacco products," Emon said citing another survey report.

"Imposing the highest rate of flat taxes on all tobacco products would effectively discourage consumption, reduce availability of tobacco products and increase revenue earning of the government," Emon added.

The ATMA members demanded for cancelling the present tariff system for taxation on 'bidi', 'Jorda' and 'Gul' and slab-based taxation system on cigarettes and suggested for imposing cent per cent of retail price as flat tax rate on all tobacco products.