Tobacco hazards cause losses worth Tk 305.7b every year

The impact of smoking on health is well known by now, but less attention has been given to the costs that smokers impose on the economy. Bangladesh faces a growing economic penalty due to tobacco related-illnesses and deaths.

A major new study, conducted by the Bangladesh Cancer Society (BCS) has pinned the cost to the country of some citizens' nicotine habit at a whopping Tk 305.7 billion, 1.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), a year, according to a UNB report.

The dissemination programme on the study “Economic Cost of Tobacco Use in Bangladesh: A health cost approach,” for which BCS partnered with the American Cancer Society, Cancer Research UK, and the economics department of Dhaka University, was held at Dhaka Club on Saturday.

The study finds that the risk of one of the major tobacco-related diseases among the tobacco users is 57 per cent more than the non-users, and 109 per cent more for tobacco-related cancer.

The study also said that the cost from the environmental and health risks of tobacco cultivation, the threat to food security, threat of fire and damage, environmental pollution and other losses such as poor farmland use in tobacco cultivation, were not being measured.

Children are most affected by tobacco. Some two million children in the country are affected by indirect or passive smoking, it finds.

The day's programme included an opening ceremony, technical session, and a group discussion on the results of the research.

A study of seven diseases related to the economic and health risks is collected in 10,000 home-based houses. The Bangladesh Cancer Society led the research.

State minister for health Murad Hassan was present as chief guest.

In the inaugural session, Bangladesh Cancer Society president professor Mollah Obdullah Baki presided over the programme.

The programme was conducted by BCS joint secretary-general and research projects director Golam Mohiuddin Faruque.

The state minister noted that prime minister announced the country will wean itself off tobacco by 2040.

"To this end, the government has taken various steps to control tobacco use. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare does not expect the government to own shares in any tobacco company. And the government has decided to withdraw shares from British American Tobacco, or BAT, gradually.”

Former chairman of the National Board of Revenue Nasiruddin Ahmed said tobacco or cigarette prices will keep increasing and the use of tobacco will gradually decrease if it is taken out of the consumers' purchasing capacity.

Although the tax regime has continued getting tougher for the businesses, one obstacle towards raising the tobacco tax is that some political figures and senior government officials work as lobbyists on behalf of tobacco companies and oppose increasing taxation of tobacco, he said.

He too called on the government to withdraw its shares from BAT.

“Tobacco companies are involved in tax evasion. The revenue department will have to increase their own capability of realising revenues from tobacco companies,” Nasir added.

Health secretary Mohammad Asadul Islam said in light of the announcement of the prime minister, they are indeed working to free the country of tobacco by 2040.

He lauded the research initiative that allows for a better accounting for the disease in any cost-benefit analysis.

“Such research and its results will help in our decision-making process.”