Local and foreign health experts yesterday urged the Hong Kong SAR government to increase the tobacco duty as part of tobacco control measures.

The experts made their points ahead of a seminar organized by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) today, a year after the amended Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance came into effect on January 1, 2007.

The seminar aims to bring together overseas and local experiences to provide an in-depth understanding on issues related to tobacco control in Hong Kong.

COSH chairman Dr Homer Tso believed the law is less than effective in the absence of ancillary measures, which may include the promotion of a smokeless society, raising the tobacco duty, a ban on tobacco advertising and providing assistance to people who want to quit smoking.

The tax increase will be a win-win measure, said Hana Ross, strategic director of International Tobacco Control Research of the American Cancer Society, for it will not only discourage smoking but also increase government revenue.

In response to that, a spokesman for the Financial Secretary said the government has done a lot of work to discourage smoking and that the increase of tobacco duty is only one of the options which will be subject to public discussion.

Noting there were 840,000 smokers in the city in 2006, Ross estimated a 20 percent increase in tobacco duty would result in a 10 percent price increase.

She expected the policy to reduce the number of smokers and smoking-related deaths in Hong Kong by 21,000 and 5,250 respectively.

Since the tobacco duty in Hong Kong has been the same since 2001, she said it should be raised to 75 percent of the retail price per pack.

(HK Edition 04/18/2008 page1)