Hundreds in Hong Kong protest tobacco tax hike

Several hundred people protested a recent proposal to raise Hong Kong's tax on cigarettes by 50 percent, accusing the government Sunday of favoring the rich a year after it proposed eliminating wine duty.

They chanted "Tycoons enjoy cheap wine, the poor suffer from expensive cigarettes" as they marched from Hong Kong's legislature building to government headquarters in the Central financial district. Some smoked as they walked.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said in his budget speech on Feb. 25 he proposed the cigarette tax hike for "public health reasons."

About 12 percent of Hong Kongers older than 15 are daily smokers, according to statistics from the Department of Health's Tobacco Control Office.

The Hong Kong government didn't comment on the protest immediately.