Anti-smoking activists in the capital on Tuesday urged the government
to increase price of and tax on cigarette to discourage smoking.
At a press conference, they said one stick of low brand cigarette costs Tk 1.50 that increases the number of smokers in the country whereas in India smokers have to spend at least Tk 30 to get a 10-stick packet.
The Human Resource and Health Foundation stated this at the press conference held at the National Press Club.
The foundation chairman, Md Shahjahan, read out the keynote paper and said such low brand cigarette was very cheap and available all over the country, which posed serious health hazard.
He said that a total of Tk 5,000 crore sticks of low rate cigarette were sold in 2011-2012.
Shahjahan urged the government to increase the price of and tax on the per-stick-Tk 1.50 cigarette to stop the increasing number of smokers.
Health experts Ayesha Siddiqa Majumder said at present tea stalls sell a
cup of tea at Tk 5, a chocolate for Tk 2, per piece banana at Tk 5 whereas the harmful item costs Tk 1.50 only.
She said this low rate cigarette was dominating 60 per cent of total
cigarette market in the country, which was only 20 per cent even 10 years ago.
Ayesha said only cigarette companies like
British American Tobacco, Dhaka Tobacco and
Akiz Industries were getting benefit and making profit.
She said in the last five years the number of smokers increased to 40 lakh owing to the cheap price of such cigarette.
Citizens Rights Movement secretary general Tushar Rehman and musician Azad Rahman also spoke.
-With New Age input
