Budget Speech

Tobacco Control

161.      Studies by the World Health Organization have clearly shown that increasing tobacco duty is an effective means of tobacco control. For public health protection, I propose to increase the duty on cigarettes by $0.5 per stick or 41.5 per cent. Duties on other tobacco products will also be increased by the same percentage. The above adjustments take immediate effect by way of a Public Revenue Protection Order gazetted today. The Customs and Excise Department will step up law enforcement to contain cigarette smuggling. We will also make greater effort to provide smoking cessation services.

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