The 2023-24 Budget made a breakthrough in tobacco control, as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in his budget speech proposed increasing tobacco duty tax on cigarettes by 60 cents per stick with immediate effect. As a result, cigarette packs that were selling for HK$62 ($7.90) on Tuesday are now priced at HK$74. Is this a good measure to tackle tobacco control in Hong Kong? If so, how good is it?

The first issue is whether the cost increase is reasonable and effective. Upon the adjustment, for every pack of cigarettes bought in Hong Kong, the purchaser is paying around HK$50 in tobacco duty, which accounts for 67.7 percent of the retail price. The tax hike is substantial and, as duly acknowledged by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH), it manages to keep pace with the cumulative inflation over the past 8 years. Yet the World Health Organization has recommended a minimum 75 percent tax share of the retail price of tobacco, which is already the status quo for many economies.

According to a survey conducted by COSH in 2022, to effectively encourage a smoker to quit smoking, the average retail price per pack should be set above HK$100. If the goal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government in raising the tobacco duty is to discourage residents from buying cigarettes, and therefore reduce overall smoking, then a further tax rate adjustment upward is needed to make cigarettes substantially more expensive. So, among the people who welcome the tobacco tax rise, there are those who claim that cigarette products in Hong Kong are still too affordable.

This then raises the question of whether an annual increase in tobacco duty by a substantial percentage over the annual inflation rate of Hong Kong would be desirable. This year’s revision perhaps reminds Hong Kong society of a long-neglected issue: How frequently should the tobacco duty tax rate be reviewed and revised? The last revision took place 8 years ago. Stakeholders may speculate as to how long the new tax rate will remain in place before another increase is considered. It seems that an annual review would be ideal, given the highlighted importance of tobacco control in both national and local policies. For Hong Kong, a continuous and substantial increase in tobacco duty above the inflation rate may better signal the government’s determination to achieve its target smoking prevalence rate of 7.8 percent by 2025 and eventually work toward a tobacco-free Hong Kong.

In line with the increase in tobacco duty, the government and Legislative Council shall consider further administrative and legislative measures to tackle habitual smoking in Hong Kong. An undesirable phenomenon is the consumption of cigarettes by high-school and college students in Hong Kong. According to the latest statistics, 1.2 percent of secondary school students are currently smokers, while 7.7 percent have tried smoking. We should perhaps consider raising the legal age for smoking.

Another perspective is perhaps to examine where smoking is allowed in Hong Kong. As per COSH, expansion of statutory nonsmoking areas is overwhelmingly supported by residents, for example, public transport stops (94.3 percent), waiting in line in public places (93.7 percent), outside schools and tutorial centers (90.2 percent). It is high time to reflect on whether smoking should be allowed in any public places, particularly at public transportation facilities, bus stops and venues where children and teenagers are present.  

In a nutshell, the increase in tobacco duty with immediate effect by the financial secretary is much needed for Hong Kong to leap into a tobacco-free society, but more efforts are needed to achieve the goal.

The author is a Hong Kong Deputy to the National People’s Congress and a member of the Legislative Council

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.