Death Marketing-1

Majority BATB cig brand prices untouched in budget/ Public health entrapped with harmful profit

The prices of premium and high tier cigarettes of British American Tobacco Bangladesh has not been increased in the National Budget for 2016 -17 fiscal years. To ensure the consumers, the company has advertised over the issue on newspapers. With some biased taxation attempts, the prices of BATB’s nine brands among the 14 has been unchanged. Considering the per capita income of the previous year, the consumers of these tires (premium and high ) can buy the same amount of cigarettes by spending the less amount of money comparing the previous year. But the prices of daily necessaries have been increased notably. The BATB is exploiting the government machinary against public health for years with the guise of business partnership. Notably, a recent verdict from the High Court has proved the tax evasion of BATB worth 700 crores but the company is terming the verdict as unjust and discriminatory and trying to manipulate the verdict by creating a pressures from the British High Commissioner in Bangladesh. Such arrogant attitudes of BATB is similar to insult the Court.
Though the Premier, Sheikh Hasina has pledged to make the country tobacco-free by 2040, the relevant Ministries are following the tracks designed by the tobacco companies.