It's getting more costly for smokers to fund their habit

Ayra Wang

Smokers now need to spend nearly HK$100 for a pack of 20 cigarettes as the tobacco tax per stick went up by 80 HK cents.

Paul Chan proposed raising the proportion of tobacco duty in the retail price of cigarettes to about 70 percent, approaching the 75 percent recommended by the World Health Organization. Duties on other tobacco products will be adjusted proportionally.

Chan said the increase will take effect immediately to "provide a greater incentive for the public to quit smoking and safeguard public health."

This is the second year in a row that the government has increased the tobacco tax, after it was raised to 60 HK cents a stick last year, with the proportion of the duty rising to 68 percent of the retail price.

He said the smoking rate has "slightly declined" after the levy was increased last year.

International studies have shown that increased tobacco duty helped reduce smoking rates, he added.

Government sources said the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes will increase 32 percent to about HK$94, of which tobacco duty accounts for HK$66.

Sources also said the recommended level by WHO will not be hard to reach and that the government will examine the effectiveness of the tobacco duty to decide whether to regularly increase the tax.

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health welcomed the tobacco tax rise and suggested a yearly government review as well as increasing the tax above the inflation rate.

Council chairman Henry Tong Sau-chai said: "It will continue to make tobacco products less affordable, which will encourage more smokers to quit smoking and prevent young people from smoking."

The council also urged the government to allocate more resources to assisting smokers to quit.

Notices on the price adjustments were swiftly posted in some convenience stores.

A smoker said he would consider quitting due to the price hike. But others claim it would instead push people to buy illicit cigarettes.

Long-term Tobacco Policy Concern Group conducted a survey of about 1,000 smokers about the tax increase this month, with most of them saying it is not effective.

It also claimed the increase would further expand the price gap of cigarettes between Hong Kong and neighboring areas, exacerbating the illegal smuggling of cigarettes.

"Cigarettes in Hong Kong now cost four to five times the price of cigarettes in the mainland," it said.

"With the frequent cross-border transportation and travel, there is no doubt that the problem of cigarette smuggling will worsen."

The group also urged the government to reveal data about the anti-smoking effect and its work on combating illicit cigarette trade.

ayra.wang@singtaonewsorp.com