From: South China Morning Post | Comment/Letters
Cheap cigarettes in Hong Kong could tempt more teens to smoke
Recently, while visiting a grocery store in Wong Tai Sin, I noticed some obscure brands of cigarettes priced as low as HK$29 per pack. I then learned from smokers I spoke to that these cheap brands were available in a number of shops and news stands in Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan.
This surprised me, because no packet of cigarettes where the necessary tax is paid could be sold at such a low price. I understand a pack of regular cigarettes in the city is sold at around HK$55, of which about HK$38 is tobacco tax, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the retail price. If the retail price of a pack is as low as HK$29, it raises serious doubts as to whether such products have entered the Hong Kong market through legitimate means, and raises questions about tax evasion.
