Hong Kong - Hong Kong's poor are being victimised with a doubling of the tax on cigarettes despite the abolition of duty on wines, legislators claimed Tuesday.

A group of legislators is trying to overturn the recent doubling of taxes on cigarettes, saying it unfairly targets smokers, the majority of whom are poorer working people.

The League of Social Democrats party planned to put forward a motion opposing the tax rise at a legislature sitting Wednesday but postponed the vote until April 1.

The postponement came Tuesday as anti-smoking campaigners attacked their stance, saying that they were putting the health of people at risk by seeking to block the tax rise.

"Many people don't understand the intention of the resolution I have put forward," legislator Albert Chan told government-run radio station RTHK.

"I believe the tax (increase) is unfair and discriminates against grass roots people. It is totally unfair that the Hong Kong government abolishes the wine tax and yet doubles the tax on tobacco."

In his budget speech February, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang announced that the duty on each cigarette sold would be increased from 80 Hong Kong cents to 1.20 Hong Kong dollars (10 to 15 US cents).

The increase pushes the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes to almost 5 US dollars, still around half the price of cigarettes in Singapore or Australia.

A study last year found that smoking rates in Hong Kong have actually increased by around 14 per cent since a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars came into effect in 2006.

All tax on wines in Hong Kong was abolished in 2008 in an effort to help the city become a fine dining hub and to help its tourism industry. (dpa)