The government is taking a cautious response to a civic group’s call to raise the tobacco health and welfare surcharge.
The nation’s tobacco health and welfare surcharge has remained at NT$20 per pack since it was adjusted in 2009.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Ministry of Finance convene experts from different fields every two years to review the tobacco health surcharge, taking into account factors such as tobacco consumption, smoking rates, national income and the consumer price index, according to Article 4 of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法).
Photo: CNA
If an increase is deemed necessary, it must be submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval and then sent to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Imported or domestically produced cigarettes are subject to a tobacco health surcharge of NT$20 per pack. For the past five years, the surcharge has contributed about NT$13.7 billion (US$436 million) per year to the National Health Insurance reserve fund.
The John Tung Foundation said that cigarette prices in Taiwan are too low and that the tobacco surcharge or tax should be significantly and rapidly increased, aiming for a cigarette price of NT$400 by 2035, in order to restore the principle of “using price to control consumption” and achieve the goal of tobacco harm prevention.
Lin Ching-li (林清麗), director of the Tobacco Control Division at the John Tung Foundation, yesterday said that most countries primarily rely on tobacco taxes, while Taiwan uses both a tobacco tax and a tobacco health surcharge.
Ideally, this system should reach the WHO-recommended level, where tobacco taxes account for 75 percent of the retail cigarette price, she said, adding that since the tobacco surcharge was introduced in 2002, it was only raised by NT$5 in 2006 and NT$10 in 2009, while the tobacco tax was increased by NT$20 in 2017.
The combined tobacco tax and surcharge in Taiwan amounts to only NT$51.8 per pack, she said.
Discussions about the tobacco surcharge and tax in Taiwan have been distorted by tobacco companies into a “money-grabbing battle,” shifting the focus away from health promotion goals toward debates about the allocation of the surcharge, Lin said.
Other countries and regions adjust tobacco taxes more frequently than Taiwan, often by US$1–2 at a time, she said, pointing to Hong Kong, which had cigarette prices similar to Taiwan’s 40 years ago, and now has prices that are four times higher.
Lin said Taiwan’s tobacco tax and surcharge should be increased immediately when adjusted, without giving tobacco companies time to stockpile and profit.
She suggested implementing a NT$60 tax increase next year to raise cigarette prices to NT$200 per pack, followed by NT$30 increases every two years, taking cues from Australia and Hong Kong, with the goal of reaching NT$400 per pack by 2035.
Hsueh Kuang-chieh (薛光傑), director of the Tobacco Cessation Clinic at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, said that the tobacco surcharge has long been left “unchanged when it should have been adjusted,” reflecting excessive government caution in policy.
He said that raising the surcharge and increasing cigarette prices to “control consumption through price” reduces the desire to smoke at the source, lowers health risks, and is most beneficial for National Health Insurance and public health.
When reached for comment, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) yesterday said that the tobacco health surcharge system has been evaluated on a regular basis, taking into account smoking rates, tobacco consumption, price levels and overall tobacco control strategies.
Shen said the core purpose of levying tobacco taxes and surcharges is to reduce tobacco consumption and protect public health.
Governmental data have shown that the adult smoking rate has dropped from 21.9 percent in 1997 to 12.8 percent in 2024, a decline of about 40 percent over 27 years, she said.
She said increasing tobacco taxes or surcharges is only one part of tobacco control policy.
It must be combined with regulatory measures, health education and cessation services to achieve the greatest impact, she said.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chih-jou
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