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

Nearly 90 per cent of Hong Kong smokers cannot distinguish smuggled cigarettes from duty-paid ones under the government’s proposed plain packaging, a survey by an advocacy group has found.The Long-term Tobacco Policy Concern Group on Thursday also urged authorities to expand the function of the tobacco stamp duty system to allow consumers to scan QR codes and verify whether a pack was taxed.“With the current packaging, consumers could 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.”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 in Hong Kong 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.