Tobacco tax increase would reduce child malnutrition:  BATA Press Conference

In a Press conference today (20 February) at the National Press Club, speakers said that increasing the tax on tobacco could significantly reduce child malnutrition, by encouraging low-income tobacco users to switch expenditures from tobacco to food for their children.  Further, speakers said, higher taxes on tobacco would improve public health by lowering rates of tobacco use in the public at large, but particularly among low-income groups and youth, while also increasing government revenue.

The Press Conference organized by Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance, featured a paper presented by Mr Kazi Faruk. Speaker mentions that, recent research showing that areas of Bangladesh with higher tobacco prices also have lower rates of child malnutrition.  The study authors calculated that a 39% increase in tobacco prices could reduce severe stunting by 60% and moderate stunting by 10%, while increasing the prevalence of normal weight by 43%.

BATA Coordinator, Saifuddin Ahmed, cited international research showing that in low-income countries, a 10% increase in price reduces consumption of tobacco by 8%, and as much as 10% among youth and the poor.  But, he said, it is not enough to raise the tax on tobacco; legislation or price policies are needed to ensure that increases in tax lead to regular increases in price above inflation. He cited statistics showing that while there have been moderate increases in the price of cigarettes in the past several years, the increase in price of essential goods such as rice, dal, and soybean oil have been far greater, making tobacco increasingly affordable compared to food.  For instance, while the price of Gold Leaf cigarettes increased by almost 28% from 2000-2007, the price of soybean oil increased by over 118%.

BATA members also cited research indicating that high taxes on tobacco would be popular among the low-income group, and that it is unlikely that low-income people would face any negative effect from such an increase.  They cited local research findings that 73.2% of low-income tobacco users support a tax increase on tobacco, and that 88% said that if the price of tobacco were to increase, they would reduce or stop using it altogether, while only 1.9% said they would spend more on tobacco or less on other items.

The experience of other countries, including China, South Africa, Norway, and Thailand indicate that as taxes on tobacco increase, prevalence of tobacco use falls but government revenues continue to rise.  Further, increasing tobacco prices supplements the existing strong government efforts to reduce tobacco use through law, by decreasing the number of smokers and thus the complexities of enforcing legal measures. International evidence also indicates that smuggling is linked not to tobacco prices, but rather to rates of corruption, and thus should be dealt with through legal measures, not through tax reductions.  The upcoming inter-governmental meeting in Geneva on international collaboration for addressing illicit trade, sponsored by the World Health Organization, presents an opportunity for government to join in regional and international efforts to reduce smuggling through such measures as better tracking and tracing of tobacco products.

Meanwhile, as a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Government of Bangladesh is obliged to institute tax and price measures to ensure that tobacco products continue to become less affordable to the poor, and less attractive to all current and potential users. 

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