Financial Secretary Paul Chan hit smokers with a sharp increase in tobacco taxes on Wednesday, saying he hoped the rising costs would encourage more people to quit.

Delivering his budget speech, Chan said the duty on each cigarette would rise by 60 cents in what the minister said was the first substantial increase in the duty for a decade. Taxes on other forms of tobacco would be increased by the same proportion.

It's expected to take the price of a typical packet of 20 imported cigarettes from about HK$62 to at least HK$74.

"Smoking is hazardous to health," Chan told lawmakers. "Increasing tobacco duty is recognised internationally as the most effective means to reduce tobacco use.

He added: "A rise in cigarette price will increase the incentive of smokers to reduce or quit smoking."

Chan noted that, before the increase, tax accounted for about 62 percent of the retail price of a cigarette in Hong Kong, compared to a World Health Organisation recommendation of 75 percent.

The minister said the government's aim was to reduce the proportion of the population that smokes, from 9.5 percent to 7.8 percent.

"With this target in mind, we will continue to review the overall effectiveness of tobacco control measures, and in parallel step up efforts to promote smoking cessation as well as law enforcement against illicit cigarettes," Chan said.

One smoker, who said he got through a pack of cigarettes every week, told RTHK that the tax hike didn't affect him much and would be acceptable, though heavier smokers might be more unhappy.

Another smoker said he was upset with the increase, which he said was much higher than that in the past.

He argued that the authorities shouldn't use monetary pressure to force people into changing their personal habits, accusing officials of raising the levy only because they couldn't increase taxes elsewhere.

Former health minister Sophia Chan, an expert on smoking cessation and now a professor of nursing at the University of Hong Kong, said raising taxes is the single most effective measure in tobacco control.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, Henry Tong, welcomed the increase, saying he's glad the government is stepping up efforts on tobacco control.

He called on the government to raise tobacco taxes every year, to continuously make the products less affordable.
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Last updated: 2023-02-22 HKT 16:24