Hong Kong tries out laser labels to combat illicit tobacco sales
Authorities want to root out sale of untaxed cigarettes in city by differentiating duty-paid tobacco products from illicit ones
Hong Kong customs has launched a three-month pilot scheme to test using laser labels on duty-paid tobacco products to help tackle the sale of untaxed cigarettes in the city.
“They are capable of [producing the labels] and can quickly stick them onto each pack of cigarettes. Both we and the multiple local tobacco firms think they can comply with this step of the mechanism,” he told a television programme.
Customs officers at designated border control points also started applying blue labels on duty-paid cigarette packs entering the city, it said.
“To enable the industry and residents to gauge the main operations of the mechanism, Hong Kong customs launched a three-month pilot scheme for the label on October 6,” the department said in a social media post.