Hongkong Intends To Raise Tobacco Tax Rates Next Year

according to

According to the 2007 report of the census and Statistics Department, 65% smokers first went to the age of ten to nineteen years old. Xiong Sifang, President of the Hongkong Psychiatric Institute, quoted a British research report, pointing out that smokers are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression or anxiety disorders than others. "Apart from their mental problems, they have an impact on other functions of the body, while smokers will be anxious when smoking cessation, and the situation is similar to mental illness."

In addition to mental illness, he said that smoking by parents, especially mothers during pregnancy, may have long-term effects on the health of the fetus and children, such as preterm birth, premature death and sudden death.

Smoking has a far-reaching impact. Zhou Yiyue said that in this year's budget, the financial secretary has mentioned that the tobacco tax will be considered next year. The authorities will analyze the current information in the coming months to see whether tax increases should be studied.

Zhou Yiyue pointed out that the proportion of tobacco taxes in overseas developed countries is seventy-five percent, while tobacco taxes in Hongkong account for about sixty percent of cigarette prices. Therefore, the authorities believe there is still room to increase tobacco taxes.

He reiterated that before making any decision, it was necessary to analyze and clarify the matter before it was announced by the financial secretary next year.

The tobacco concern and tobacco control committee, composed of tobaccos and tobacco retailers, said that if tobacco taxes were raised, the retail price of cigarettes in Hongkong would increase, but the actual increase would depend on the increase in tobacco taxes.

The committee also said that the price of cigarettes in Hongkong has been more than 30% to 50% higher than that in the neighbouring areas. If the further increase of taxes will aggravate the problem of illicit cigarettes, the government will face it.

For reports that the health department of the Department of health has used the suspected hepatitis vaccine in doubt, Zhou Yiyue said that the Department of health has sent people to the clinic to take samples of the vaccine and to check the injection records, but the details need to be explained after the investigation by the Department of health.

In addition, it was reported that there was a suspected vaccination of a vaccine in a health center. The health center, the Christian Union, said yesterday that the vaccine had not expired. But because the medical staff had found that the vaccine contained sediment and had stopped the injection in real time, the victim had not experienced any discomfort after the accident. The Department of health has taken the same batch of vaccine tests to the health center.