Hong Kong to begin transition to plain cigarette packs in March

Hong Kong will introduce standardised cigarette packaging from March next year, with a nine-month transition period before full enforcement in December, as the city strips all branding and decorative design from packs and updates health warnings to reduce smoking rates.

The Department of Health announced on Thursday that the new rules for smoking products will require all retail packs of cigarettes, long cigarette boxes and specified cigars to drop brand logos and advertising elements.

Only brand and variant names in a prescribed font will be permitted, printed in standardised plain brown on the pack.

Manny Lam Man-chung, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, said the measure would reduce the appeal of tobacco products, citing a 2023 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) study in which 79.8 per cent of smokers surveyed said plain packaging made cigarettes less attractive.

“The measure will weaken brand effects, stop consumers underestimating health risks, and make the graphic health warnings more prominent and effective,” Lam said.

Lam said 27 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada and France, have adopted standardised packaging, citing an Australian national cohort study that found quit attempts rose from 20.2 per cent to 26.6 per cent within a year after implementation in 2012.