Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ8: Tobacco control policies
Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Fang and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(February 16):
Question:
I have received complaints from smokers and non-smokers recently. The former
have pointed out that following the Government's significant increase in tobacco
duty in 2009, i.e. levying the duty at a flat rate of $24 per packet of
cigarettes containing 20 cigarettes, even the prices of low-priced cigarettes
have increased sharply, which has added to their burden; furthermore, some
anti-smoking groups have recently called for further increase of tobacco duty
rate to 75% of the retail price of cigarettes. The smokers worry that further
increase in tobacco duty will render duty-paid cigarettes beyond their means,
and they cannot but to switch to illicit cigarettes. Non-smokers have also
pointed out that many smokers stand on the pedestrian walkways to smoke after
the Government's total ban on smoking, causing a nuisance to passers-by, hence
the non-smokers hope that the Government can protect non-smoking passers-by from
the impact of second-hand smoking by setting up smoking rooms or resorting to
other means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Government has compiled statistics on the smoking prevalence of
the Hong Kong population and average daily cigarette consumption among smokers
at present, as well as comparisons of these figures with those before the
introduction of the total ban on smoking in 2007 and the significant increase in
tobacco duty in 2009;
(b) of the respective ratios of tobacco duty to the retail price, the quantities
of duty-paid cigarettes, as well as the revenues collected on tobacco duty by
the Government of cigarettes sold in Hong Kong in the 12 months before and after
the significant increase in tobacco duty in 2009 (set out in table form);
(c) whether it knows which 10 countries and cities have the highest and lowest
ratios of tobacco duty to retail price of cigarettes at present (for tobacco
duty only, excluding other taxes such as consumption tax), as well as the
respective smoking population and average annual consumption in these countries
and cities (set out in table form);
(d) whether the government has any established policy to increase tobacco duty
until it reaches a certain ratio to the retail price of cigarettes, and whether
tobacco duty will be levied on a percentage basis instead of the flat-rate at
present;
(e) given that some members of the public have relayed to me that it is
increasingly common for smokers to smoke at home and on pedestrian walkways,
whether the Government will reconsider setting up smoking rooms so as to reduce
the impact of second-hand smoking on non-smokers; if it will not, whether the
Government has any other means to address this issue; and
(f) whether the Government will consider listing cigarettes as contraband and
prohibiting the sale of cigarettes in Hong Kong; if it will, of the plan; if
not, whether it will allow more flexibility for operating the business of this
commodity and more respectable smoking areas for smokers?
Reply:
President,
First of all, I have to point out that it has been recognised both locally and
internationally that smoking is hazardous to public health and personal health.
For the public, smoking and second-hand smoke will not only affect the
population's health, but will also cause various diseases that result in
economic loss to the society and pose a long-term burden to our healthcare
system. For smokers, smoking addiction is a chronic disease that causes health
problems. Giving up such a harmful habit as smoking will not only benefit
personal health, but also do away with a wasteful and avoidable expenditure
item.
Over the years, the Government has been strengthening its tobacco control in a
progressive manner in an effort to minimise the use of tobacco and prevent young
people from becoming addicted to smoking. The Government has also strived to
strike a balance between the expectations of non-smokers and smokers in
designating no smoking areas and enforcing a smoking ban to reduce exposure of
the public to second-hand smoke. The Government will continue to take a
multi-pronged approach in implementing its tobacco control policies comprising
publicity, education, legislation, law enforcement, taxation and promotion of
smoking cessation, so as to contain the proliferation of tobacco use and
safeguard public health.
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Member is as follows:
(a) The Government collects statistics relating to tobacco control from time to
time, including the percentage of smokers in the Hong Kong population, the
average daily consumption of cigarettes by smokers, the number of duty-paid
cigarettes, etc. The statistics on smoking pattern since the 1980's and the
rates of tobacco duty over the same period are at Appendix 1. The last two
surveys on smoking pattern were conducted from December 2007 to March 2008 and
from November 2009 to February 2010 respectively by the Census and Statistics
Department.
Statistics from these two surveys showed that the proportion of persons who had
a smoking habit among all persons aged 15 and above accounted for 13.1% and
13.0% respectively, and the proportion of daily smokers being 11.8% and 12.0%
respectively. There was no significant change in the overall proportion of
smokers between the two surveys. However, an analysis by age group showed that
the proportion of smokers in the younger age groups of 15 to 29 dropped
significantly by more than 10% between the two surveys while the average daily
consumption of cigarettes among daily smokers dropped moderately from 13.9
sticks to 13.7 sticks. There was a more significant drop in the average daily
consumption of cigarettes (from an average of 33.9 sticks per day to 28.5
sticks) among heavy smokers (those with daily consumption of more than 20
sticks).
(b) The tobacco duty rates and the amount of cigarette duty collected in the
past are shown in Appendix 1. According to the Customs and Excise Department,
the percentage of tobacco duty in the retail prices of cigarettes (each packet
of 20 cigarettes) since 2007 was around 56% (in 2007), 55% (in 2008) and 62% (in
2009 and 2010) respectively, taking reference with the retail price of the brand
with the highest quantity of duty-paid cigarettes.
(c) The 10 countries with the highest and lowest proportion of tobacco duty to
retail price of cigarettes, the percentage of their smoking population, the
retail price of cigarettes, and the proportion of tobacco duty to cigarette
retail price in these countries as reported in the "WHO Report on the Global
Tobacco Epidemic, 2009: Implementing Smoke-free Environments" are shown at
Appendix 2. We do not have information about the average annual consumption of
cigarettes in these countries. It should be noted that in the 10 countries with
the highest proportion of tobacco duty to cigarette retail price, their rates of
tobacco duty are all at 78% or above, significantly higher than that of Hong
Kong (62%).
(d) The Government has no established policy to increase the rate of tobacco
duty to a certain percentage of the retail price. The Financial Secretary will
review the necessity of adjusting tobacco duty in the annual Budget exercise
after taking into consideration factors such as public finance, economic
conditions and relevant tobacco control policies. In considering whether to
increase the tobacco duty, apart from the objective of implementing tobacco
control by way of taxation, factors such as the affordability of the public and
whether it will give rise to more smuggling activities and illegal sale of
illicit cigarettes on the streets will also be taken into account in order to
strike an appropriate balance.
(e) Safeguarding public health through implementing smoking ban at all indoor
public places and workplaces as well as individual leisure grounds or other
outdoor places was the consensus reached when the Smoking (Public Health)
Ordinance was last amended in 2006. As we reported to this Council in 2009 on
the findings of a feasibility study on smoking room, both our study findings and
the experience of overseas countries showed that establishment of smoking rooms
entail significant technical and operation difficulties. There was currently no
conclusive evidence to prove that smoking rooms can effectively segregate
smokers from non-smokers. We thus considered that provision of smoking room was
not practicable in light of actual circumstances in Hong Kong.
The Government noted that after implementation of indoor smoking ban, more
smokers turn to smoking outdoors such as smoking on the streets. To reduce the
exposure of the public to second-hand smoke, the most effective way is to reduce
the overall smoking population through assisting smokers to quit smoking and
preventing young people from picking up the smoking habit.
On smoking cessation, the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority
(HA) provide various kind of smoking cessation services, including a hotline,
clinics, and an interactive online cessation centre, providing smokers with
advice to quitting, psychological counselling and pharmaceutical treatment. To
further strengthen its efforts on smoking prevention and cessation, DH has
launched a community-based smoking cessation programme jointly with the Tung Wah
Group of Hospitals since January 2009, and also launched a pilot community-based
smoking cessation programme through counseling and acupuncture with Pok Oi
Hospital since April 2010. The number of enquiries received by the DH's smoking
cessation hotline has increased in multiples since the increase in tobacco duty
in 2009, reflecting an overall upward trend in the number of smokers seeking
help for smoking cessation.
(f) Smoking is an unhealthy lifestyle. The Government has been taking a
progressive and multi-pronged approach in its tobacco control policies,
comprising legislation, taxation, publicity, education and law enforcement to
advise the public of the health hazards of smoking, discourage them from
smoking, encourage smokers to quit or reduce smoking as early as possible, and
protect the public from the adverse impact of second-hand smoke to the extent
possible. The Government has no plan at this stage to prohibit tobacco sale in
Hong Kong. We will continue to keep in view the compliance situation after
implementation of smoking ban in various venues, with a view to assessing the
need and means for further strengthening our efforts in tobacco control so as to
minimise the impact of second-hand smoke on the public for safeguarding public
health.
Ends/Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:09
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