Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) yesterday urged the government to increase taxes on the tobacco products in the coming budget to check the massive use of tobacco in the country. "Taxes on all tobacco products including dried tobacco leaves, 'gul' and 'zarda' have to be increased for effectively controlling the use of tobacco,' said Consumer's Association of Bangladesh (CAB) General Secretary Kazi Faruk at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club. He said an increase in prices of tobacco products will have the greatest effect on the important target groups like poor and youths. "Some 10 percent increase in price reduces consumption by four percent in developed countries and eight percent in a country like Bangladesh.' Referring to a survey by 'Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB)' and 'Mental and Health Bridge', Kazi Faruq said. Most of the people in the country supported the increase of taxes and prices on tobacco and tobacco products. "Some 73.2 percent respondents opined in favour of increasing taxes on tobacco while some 60.1 percent agreed to cut down on the use of tobacco with high price of tobacco products.' The survey was conducted on some 1,015 people, including government officials, farmers and university students. The organisers quoting a paper of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said some 36.8 percent people over 15 years in Bangladesh use tobacco in one form or other. BATA Coordinator Saifuddin Ahmed, MANABIK President Rafiqul Islam Milon and Dhaka Ahsania Mission Programme Officer Iqbal Masud also spoke.