Hong Kong tests laser labels for tobacco products in 3-month pilot scheme

Hong Kong customs has launched a three-month pilot scheme to test using laser labels on duty-paid tobacco products to help tackle the sale of untaxed cigarettes in the city.

Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat said on Tuesday that he was confident the labels would be difficult to counterfeit, adding that local tobacco companies were equipped to produce the laser labels.

“They are capable of [producing the labels] and can quickly stick them onto each pack of cigarettes. Both we and the multiple local tobacco firms think they can comply with this step of the mechanism,” he told a television programme.

The Customs and Excise Department revealed that the pilot scheme started on Monday and involved selected local tobacco companies putting a green label on taxed retail cigarette packs.

Customs officers at designated border control points would also start applying blue labels on duty-paid cigarette packs entering the city, it said.

“To enable the industry and residents to gauge the main operations of the mechanism, Hong Kong customs launched a three-month pilot scheme for the label on October 6,” the department said in a social media post.