The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health wants the city’s tobacco tax to increase by 75 per cent of the retail price, to bring it in line with the recommended tobacco taxation rate from the WHO, reports The Standard.

Tobacco taxes were increased one year ago with a packet of 20 cigarettes now costing HKD 78 (USD 9.98) and the tax proportion at 64 per cent. The Council now wants the tax to increase to 75 per cent of the retail price and for the tax to be reviewed and adjusted each year according to inflation, reports The Standard.
The aim is to help smokers quit and protect Hong Kong citizens’ health which Vienna Lai Wai-yin, the executive director of the Council on Smoking and Health, said the current tobacco taxation rate has failed to do.
The Council also wants the government to strengthen tobacco control measures, including increasing resources to assist smokers in quitting, to achieve the government’s goal of reducing the smoking rate to 7.8 per cent by 2025 and ultimately achieving a smoke-free Hong Kong, said Lai.