Debate is intensifying in Bangladesh over how to regulate tobacco and safer nicotine alternatives amid rising concerns about illegal trade and public health. Experts and policymakers are divided: one group advocates for a balanced, evidence-based policy that protects health while recognizing market realities and offering smokers safer, regulated alternatives; another group calls for a total ban on all alternatives, a stance critics say ignores global evidence and could harm both health and the economy. National Board of Revenue Chairman Md. Abdur Rahman Khan warned that illegal trade in tobacco and substitutes is causing major revenue losses and argued that regulation is more effective than prohibition. International examples from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States show that controlled harm-reduction strategies, such as nicotine pouches, can reduce smoking-related diseases and support cessation. Advocates say Bangladesh should follow a similar evidence-based approach to strengthen its tobacco control strategy and advance its goal of becoming tobacco-free.