Policy Address 2026: Hong Kong to standardise cigarette pack designs in bid to discourage smoking

The Hong Kong government has announced plans to standardize cigarette pack designs in 2026 with the aim of discouraging residents from smoking. This decision, made by the city’s leader John Lee during his annual Policy Address, follows the government’s approval of subsidiary legislation that will eliminate the use of designs on cigarette packs and replace them with plain packaging.

The move is recommended by the World Health Organization and is expected to remove brand logos, colors, and decorative elements, including slogans and signs, from cigarette packaging. This change is intended to redirect consumers' focus towards the health warnings printed on the packages. The government plans to implement the standardized packaging from March 2027, with a nine-month transition period to allow retailers to clear existing stock before the measure becomes fully enforced on December 1, 2027.

The announcement comes as part of a series of policies implemented in recent years to combat smoking, which include increasing cigarette taxes and cracking down on alternative smoking products. According to the Department of Health, the smoking rate in Hong Kong has declined from 23.3% of residents aged 15 and above in the early 1980s to 8.5% last year.