Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (“COSH”), together with 83 organizations, sent an open letter to the Financial Secretary to urge the Government to raise tobacco tax substantially by 100% in FY2021-2022, as well as to increase annual tax subsequently in order to reduce smoking prevalence, accelerate the development of tobacco control and safeguard public health. Since 2014, the tax per cigarette pack remained at HK$38 and most brands had increased their retail prices several times during this period. The tobacco tax only accounted for around 63% of the retail price, which was far below World Health Organization’s (“WHO”) recommendation of at least 75%.
 
Mr Henry TONG, COSH Chairman said, “Tobacco tax has been frozen for six consecutive years, the policy is far from being satisfactory to contain the proliferation of tobacco use. The smoking prevalence in Hong Kong has plateaued in recent decade and even slightly raised to 10.2% in 2019. The tobacco control policies were stagnant. COSH advocates the Government to raise tobacco tax substantially by 100% and impose subsequent annual tax hike to motivate smoking cessation and lower the smoking rate effectively.”
 
Increasing tobacco tax is the single most effective measure to reduce tobacco use which can motivate smokers to quit and prevent smoking uptake in adolescents. According to COSH’s Tobacco Control Policy-related Survey conducted from September 2018 to March 2019, 79.6% of respondents supported raising tobacco tax next year and the majority (70.9%) supported an annual tobacco tax increase. The survey also showed that current smokers considered a median cigarette price of HK$100 per pack and a mean price of HK$129.8 per pack as high enough to motivate them to quit, whilst the retail price of conventional cigarettes is currently at approximate HK$60 per pack only.
 
Smoking increases the risk of the spread of novel coronavirus in the community, as well as harms lung function and weakens immune system. WHO launched a year-long global campaign “Commit to Quit” in 2020 to call on the public to quit tobacco, so as to reduce the susceptibility to respiratory illness. In addition, the numbers of received calls of the Department of Health Smoking Cessation Hotline has raised during the pandemic. Considering significant hike in the tobacco tax helps boost quit attempts among smokers, the Government shall curb smoking to ease economic burden and medical expenses, and also lower the risk of spreading novel coronavirus.
 
The Government targeted to reduce the smoking rate to 7.8% in 2025, in addition to raising tobacco tax substantially, COSH also urges the Government to formulate the tobacco endgame goal with a defined timeline and strengthen the multi-pronged tobacco control measures, including enacting a total ban on alternative smoking products including electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes promptly, implementing plain packaging, banning all tobacco product display at point-of-sale, extending the statutory smoke-free areas, placing legal onus on venue managers for smoking offences, raising the legal tobacco sales age to 21, tightening law enforcement, allocating more resources for smoking cessation services and smoke-free education, as well as countering tobacco industry interference with tobacco control policies, to achieve a smoke-free Hong Kong.

Chinese Association on Tobacco Control Copyright © 1992-2011
  906-907 Anhuidongli, Chaoyang District Beijing 100101

Tel: (8610)64983905  Fax: (8610)64983805     Email: apact2015@catcprc.org.cn