BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: With annual production of 84 billion cigarettes, Bangladesh ranks among the top cigarette-producing countries. Weak enforcement of MRP regulations allows Tobacco Industries (TI) to increase an extra BDT 200 million daily, leading to tax evasion and excessive profits. The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection Authority (DNCRPA) was inactive to address this law violation.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: It was analyzed, why TIs are not interested to increase cigarettes price, while they interested to increase MRP for other items. Since there was no enforcement of MRP for cigarettes, TI’s instructed retail sellers to sale cigarette higher price than MRP. Eight investigative reports (4.4 million viewed) exposed the government revenue loss due to the ignorance of selling cigarettes higher price than of MRP. Additionally, the necessity of implementing MRP has been discussed in two seminars and six workshops involving journalists, tobacco control advocates, and relevant policymakers, and National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: On April 7, 2022, a report revealed that in the absence of MRP labeling, TI’s collecting an additional BDT 70 billion annually, resulting government’s revenue loss of BDT 50 billion. Following this report, NBR investigated and later recommended the implementation of MRP. On June 6, 2024, NBR amended regulations to make it mandatory to display MRP on cigarette packets. Following complaints that TI’s selling cigarettes at prices higher than the declared MRP, NBR conducted raids on the warehouses of BATB and JTI. The investigation led to the recovery of BDT 3,920 million. The DNCRP also found BATB and supermarkets for non-compliance. Authorities continue nationwide operations to ensure adherence to MRP regulations.
CONCLUSIONS: The role of journalism in tobacco control is indispensable in this regard. However, due to lack of sufficient manpower for market monitoring nationwide, a more active role of the media is urgently needed to address this weakness.