Hong Kong's anti-smoking watchdog has called for a 75% increase in tobacco taxes to meet international standards, the South China Morning Post reported.
The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health said that if the tax rate was increased by 75%, the smoking rate could drop by 0.7 percentage points to 8.8%. The council added that additional control measures are needed to reduce the city's smoking rate to its target of 7.8% next year.
The government is calling for tax increases ahead of next month's budget. Last year, the tax increased by 31.5%.
"Raising tobacco taxes should be a priority to achieve the goal of reducing smoking," Legislative Council Chairman Tong Cho-Cai told a news conference.
"(Last year's increase) was not enough to make up for the price gap caused by the tax freeze in the previous eight years."
The World Health Organization said the tax should cover at least three-quarters of the retail price of cigarettes, meaning Hong Kong would need to increase the tax rate by 75%.
Hana Ross, an honorary research associate at the University of Cape Town's School of Economics, said: "(Hong Kong) is in a very good position to reduce the prevalence to something close to what we call the 'endgame' 'Degree."
Forty-one countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Australia, have reached tobacco tax levels recommended by the WHO.
