Worsened performance due to failure in increasing tobacco tax regularly

 

Tobacconomics, a United States institute which has been conducting economic research to inform tobacco control policies for over 30 years, reviewed tobacco tax policies of more than 170 countries and developed the Cigarette Tax Scorecard. The Scorecard adopts a 5-point index, and is composed of 4 components, including cigarette price, changes in the affordability of cigarettes over time, share of tobacco tax in the retail price and tax structure. Between 2014 and 2018, there were only minor improvements in general that the global average score increased slightly from 1.85 to 2.07, with Australia (4.63) and New Zealand (4.63) having the top scores due to high tax with regular increase. Regular tobacco tax increase after one-off substantial tax increase is important in maintaining declines in cigarette affordability over time. Forty-three countries had reduced scores due largely to failure in reducing cigarette affordability through regular tax increase.

 

The Scorecard concluded that there is considerable room for improvements in tobacco tax policies for many countries. The institute also stated that in the post-COVID-19 period, increasing government revenue through tobacco tax increase is important to rebuild health systems and support economic recovery.

 

COSH is disappointed that the Government once again, for its 7th consecutive year, fails to increase tobacco tax in the 2021-2022 Budget. COSH reiterates the importance of substantial tobacco tax increase followed by regular tax increase to reduce the affordability of tobacco products continually and maintain a declining smoking trend. The Government should also strengthen multiple tobacco control measures and formulate a timeline for a total ban on smoking to achieve smoke-free Hong Kong.