Conflicts focusing on cigarettes in Hong Kong intensify as legislators continued to ask the government on Friday to double tobacco taxes in order to protect young people from smoking.

Legislator Kowk Ka-ki and several anti-smoking members condemned the price-cutting policy of Philip Morris, saying the marketing policy will expose more young people to the dangers of smoking and very likely to start a price war in cigarette industry.
Philip Morris had announced Wednesday that starting from this weekend, prices of six of its seven cigarette brands will be cut by 4 HK dollars.
The company claimed the policy is to gain back its lost of market shares and denied the policy is targeting young people. Hong Kong smokers prefer mainly imported brands, such as Kent and Marlboro. The latter dominates the market.
According to statistics, Philip Morris together with Japan Tobacco and British American Tobacco control 90 per cent of Hong Kong's cigarette market.
The other two cigarette producers are likely to follow Philip Morris' move.
Hong Kong was the second largest cigarette consumption market in Asia in 2000, according to statistics. Its cigarette import volume was largely reduced since 2001, when the government raised the import taxes on cigarettes by 5 per cent.
However, the city is still a lucrative cigarette market with higher average cigarette price at US$ 3.97 per pack, though the tax on each packet amounts to half of the price.
The Hong Kong government decided to ban smoking in all catering areas from next year, which will eventually make the city the first smoke free city in Asia. Efforts include seminars on tobacco control and establishing examples of smoke-free restaurants.
Hong Kong initially planned to make all smoking indoors, including smoking in night clubs, which was planned to become illegal by the middle of this year, but had to postpone the ban until the end of this year for the restaurants and one year later for night clubs because the anti-smoking legislation was ferociously protested by the restaurants and bars. (pi)