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Tobacco companies are selling 53 cigarette brands at 12 different price points under the government’s four-tier pricing system, allowing smokers to switch to cheaper brands based on affordability, according to a survey by research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress).
The rapid survey, conducted among 80 retailers in eight divisional cities in September 2026, found that cigarettes in the lowest price tier alone were available at eight different prices.
The highest-priced cigarettes in the low tier cost Tk 90, almost the same as the starting price of Tk 92 in the medium tier, the survey found.
Anti-tobacco advocates have long called for a gradual reduction in the number of cigarette price tiers from four to one to prevent smokers from switching to cheaper brands when prices rise.
Global evidence suggests that a single price tier can strengthen the impact of tobacco tax and price increases, particularly by encouraging young people and low-income consumers to quit smoking and discouraging smoking initiation.
However, the survey argues that Bangladesh’s existing cigarette tax structure is undermining the effectiveness of tax and price increases in reducing cigarette consumption, with 12 price points giving consumers multiple opportunities to switch brands.
An analysis of the survey data found that the government’s use of the phrase “and above” in defining price tiers gives tobacco companies considerable flexibility to set prices within each tier.
For example, the low tier is defined as “Tk 65 and above”, while the medium tier is set at “Tk 92 and above”. This allows companies to sell cigarettes in the low tier at prices ranging from Tk 65 to Tk 91, while offering brands at multiple price points across the tiers, including the premium segment.
To strengthen the impact of tobacco taxation, the survey recommended removing the “and above” provision, setting a single price point for each tier and gradually reducing the four tiers to one.