Hong Kong lawmakers on Monday called for stronger measures to prevent illegal cigarette selling and announced the launch of a citywide survey in mid-September to gather suggestions from the public.

A QR code for the survey — which will be held over a two-week period to collect suggestions — will be displayed at nearly 700 convenience stores, newspaper stands and pubs, legislators Shiu Ka-fai, Steven Ho Chun-yin and Johnny Ng Kit-chong said at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

Ho said that the city’s tobacco duty between March and July had dropped by more than 50 percent compared with the same period last year, but the smoking population — according to the government’s data — had only dropped by 4 percent over the same period.

READ MORE: HK health chief: Tighter tobacco controls won’t affect tourism

Such a contrast reflects the fact that many smokers have turned to the illicit cigarette market following the recent increases in the level of tobacco tax that smokers must pay, Ho added.

The Hong Kong government has raised tobacco tax by 31.5 percent and 31.9 percent respectively over the past two years. Now, a typical pack of cigarettes costs around HK$102 ($13.08), of which about 64.8 percent is tobacco tax.

Ho said that the sale of cigarettes on which duty has not been paid has become more common in Hong Kong, with sellers placing advertisements for their products in mailboxes at housing estates and publishing them on social media.

The syndicates even recruit teenagers to distribute flyers promoting the sale of illegal cigarettes during the school holidays, said Ho.

Ho warned that if this problem is not tackled at the community level, more children and youngsters may be tempted to start smoking, which would be harmful to them and would interfere with the government's efforts to reduce the smoking population.

On Sept 2, Hong Kong Customs revealed they had shut down two large-scale operations involving the sale of illicit cigarettes, with illicit cigarettes being sold over the telephone from public rental housing. Customs seized about 18.2 million suspected illegal cigarettes and 740 kilograms of manufactured tobacco on which duty has allegedly not been paid.

The confiscated tobacco products have a total estimated market value of about HK$86.6 million and a duty potential of about HK$63.1 million. More than 100 suspects were arrested during the operation.

ALSO READ: Tong: Govt has progressive stance on creating a smoke-free HK

Shiu said he hopes the upcoming survey, which will be conducted in collaboration with stakeholders such as newspaper vendors and pub owners , will collect constructive suggestions that will help the authorities make more practical and effective policies to crackdown on the smuggling and trading of illegal cigarettes.

Ng said that controlling tobacco and combating the trade in illicit cigarettes is not only the government’s responsibility, but also requires cooperation between the public and private sectors to educate the public on the harmful effects of smoking, Ng added.

Ng suggested that the authorities should cooperate with the industry to develop labels for duty-paid cigarettes, helping consumers and law enforcement officers to effectively identify illicit cigarettes.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com