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Leopold Chen

Nearly 90 per cent of Hong Kong smokers cannot distinguish smuggled cigarettes from duty-paid ones under the government’s proposed plain packaging measures, a survey by an advocacy group has found.
The Long-term Tobacco Policy Concern Group also urged authorities on Thursday to expand the function of the tobacco stamp duty system to allow consumers to scan QR codes and verify whether a pack had been taxed.
“With the current packaging, consumers can tell if a pack is taxed based on the brand labels and the printing quality,” group convenor Joe Lo Kai-lut said.
“But after the policy’s implementation, their logos would not be shown, while the warning patterns in the middle of the packages were unified. In this case, I believe most consumers would not be able to identify the difference.”
Cigarette packs sold in Hong Kong currently carry one of 12 government-designated health warning images covering at least 85 per cent of the packaging, with brand logos restricted to the bottom section.
The Health Bureau has proposed introducing plain cigarette packaging by the second quarter of 2027. Under the plan, brand logos would be removed, with names shown only in standardised fonts and colours.
The group polled 462 smokers this month and found that 88 per cent of respondents were unable to distinguish smuggled cigarettes from duty-paid ones under simulated plain packaging.
In contrast, 73 per cent of them were able to do so using the current cigarette box designs, the survey found.

The group suggested that authorities expand the function of the Customs and Excise Department’s tobacco stamp duty system, under which duty-paid packs are affixed with labels containing QR codes. The measure is scheduled to be fully implemented in the second quarter of 2027.
According to group member Tsui Yuen, only law enforcement officers and retailers – not consumers – can currently scan the QR codes to verify whether a pack is duty-paid.
“Authorities should consider optimising the system by allowing consumers to scan the QR codes,” he said.
“This would also help combat illicit cigarettes as residents could also report smuggled tobacco, which would be more effective than simply relying on customs’ sampling investigation.”
The group said it had learned from newspaper vendors that customs had yet to finalise the design of the labels and scanning system, raising concerns about possible delays.
It therefore urged authorities to postpone the roll-out of both measures until early 2028.
“We hope for more communication between government departments and they implement the measures simultaneously to deliver the best outcome,” Tsui said.
“If residents cannot easily tell smuggled cigarettes, they may choose to buy packs from convenience stores to be safe, which would eventually deal a blow to the business of newspaper vendors.”
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, the Customs and Excise Department said the stamp duty labels on cigarette packs were equipped with anti-counterfeit features that residents could see with the naked eye.
“If residents have doubts over the label after checking the anti-counterfeit features, they could make reports to customs for follow-up,” it said.
The department had also visited 149 newspaper vendors since mid-February to explain the implementation details of the stamp duty system, it added, while vowing to continue with publicity work.
Health authorities introduced measures last year to curb illegal cigarette sales in an attempt to reduce the smoking rate from 9.1 to 7.8 per cent.
The policy increased the maximum penalty for offences related to untaxed cigarettes to HK$2 million (US$255,550) and seven years in prison.
The Health Bureau said that following the simultaneous implementation of both the uniform packaging design and the stamp duty system next year, all specified tobacco legally sold in Hong Kong must have the stamps affixed.
“There is no basis for an organisation to allege that one would need to identify whether the products are duty-paid through the uniform packaging design alone,” it said. “The Health Bureau expressed regret at the dissemination of inaccurate information by the organisation concerned.”


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Advocates have called for clearer labelling and QR code checks on cigarette boxes ahead of the proposed introduction of plain packaging in Hong Kong. Photo: Karma Lo

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Both the green and blue labels have a QR code on the left and a mark on the right, alongside a code. Photo: Handout

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Survey finds 88 per cent of smokers cannot tell smuggled from taxed cigarettes under proposed plain pack design as advocates call for better QR code system


Survey finds 88 per cent of smokers cannot tell smuggled from taxed cigarettes under proposed plain pack design as advocates call for better QR code system.


Smoking and vaping

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Group warns plain packs hinder Hongkongers’ efforts to detect smuggled cigarettes

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Survey finds 88 per cent of smokers cannot tell smuggled from taxed cigarettes under proposed plain pack design as advocates call for better QR code system

Survey finds 88 per cent of smokers cannot tell smuggled from taxed cigarettes under proposed plain pack design as advocates call for better QR code system