Possessing or vaping with alternative smoking products such as e-cigarettes in public will be considered an offence in Hong Kong starting from April 30 next year, with offenders facing a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and a HK$50,000 (US$6,400) fine.
According to an amended bill gazetted by the government on Friday, smoking of such products will also not be allowed from next year when queuing to enter certain places, including cinemas, sports and arts facilities, health clinics, and spaces for queuing to board public transport. Offenders will be fined a fixed penalty of HK$3,000.
“The lower income group is particularly vulnerable to the health and economic damage brought about by smoking, which could exacerbate the health or economic disparity between the rich and the poor,” the Health Bureau wrote in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday.
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“The healthcare system and society as a whole would also have to pay a heavy price for smoking-related diseases in terms of healthcare costs and economic losses.”
The government said it would not implement a ban on possessing devices used for smoking heated tobacco such as e-cigarettes at this stage.
The spokesman explained that they had heard feedback that some people might possess smoking devices as collectibles, so authorities would have to consider whether to implement the ban based on the actual use of such devices in the future.
Under the stepped-up smoking control measures to discourage women and youngsters from smoking, the selling of conventional smoking products containing specified additives such as menthol and fruit flavours would also be banned, subject to a HK$50,000 fine and six-month jail term.
Products with flavours other than menthol are expected to be banned from the second quarter of 2027. The exact date of prohibiting products with menthol flavour will be determined based on the effectiveness of the first ban and the smoking situation at the time.
From January 1 next year, it will also be an offence to give a conventional or alternative smoking product to a person under 18 years old.
The amended bill will be submitted to the Legislative Council for its first reading on Wednesday.
About 580,000 people in Hong Kong are daily smokers of conventional cigarettes.
According to the results of the Thematic Household Survey Report on smoking patterns in 2023, the proportion of residents aged 15 and above who smoke conventional cigarettes daily dipped slightly from 9.5 per cent in 2021 to 9.1 per cent in 2023.
Health authorities have set a goal of further lowering the smoking rate to 7.8 per cent this year.
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