Public Health on Top

Tobacco companies have been conducting a massive media campaign centering its infamous fear mongering tactic that any increase in the prices of cigarettes would cause a spike in smuggling and illicit tobacco trade which, in turn, would cause a massive loss in govt. revenues. Similar to all previous cases, this tactic is being used to intimidate and confuse policymakers. In the last three months (February, March and April), more than 300 reports on illicit tobacco trade have been published in media outlets. Interestingly, the number of reports on this issue always falls drastically in the other months of the year. A World Bank report titled Confronting Illicit Tobacco Trade: A Global Review of Country Experiences, published in February 2019, reveals that the percentage of illicit cigarette market in Bangladesh stands at merely 1.8 percent which is the lowest in 27 countries. The report argues that the increase in tobacco taxes has barely any relation with illicit tobacco trade. As per the numbers presented in the report, illicit tobacco trade constitutes 17 percent of tobacco trade in India, 38 percent in Pakistan, 36 percent in Malaysia and 50 percent in Latvia. Generally, if the price of an item is considerably higher in country A than its neighboring country B, there would be possibility of influx of smuggled goods into country A. A World Health Organization (WHO) report found out that Bangladesh is one of those countries where the prices of cigarettes are the cheapest. The average price of even the cheapest brands of cigarettes is more than twice in India than it is in Bangladesh. So, there is absolutely no possibility for Bangladesh to experience any kind of influx of smuggled cigarettes even if the prices of cigarettes are significantly increased.

Illicit trade and smuggling indicate nothing but the deficiency in a country's administrative system. So, the policymakers should not allow themselves to be confused by the evil tactic of tobacco companies and increase the prices of all tobacco products through imposing specific tax in the upcoming national budget.