Hong Kong proposes 10 new tobacco control measures, strives for passage within legislative year

Hong Kong announced 10 new tobacco control policies on Thursday, such as introducing a new duty-paid labeling system, a ban on smoke-and-queue behavior in public, and prohibiting all flavored cigarettes and alternative products including vapes and heated cigarettes. 

The new measures are part of the efforts for the government to achieve the goal of lowering the prevalence to 7.8 percent by 2025 and to ultimately realize the vision of a “Tobacco-free Hong Kong” after the completion of a public consultation exercise launched last year. 

Other measures include raising the maximum penalty for evading tobacco duty to a HK$2 million fine and seven years’ imprisonment; a ban on providing cigarettes to underage teens and children; and continuous reviews on the adjustment of tobacco duty. 

The government will also maximize the warning area of the cigarette packet to full coverage; and expand the non-smoking area and increase the fine for the breach. 

The government will also step up support for smokers who wish to quit and strengthen promotion and education. 

Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the government strives to table the new policies to the Legislative Council before the end of this year and expects they will be passed within this legislative year. 

Lo cited results from the consultation that over 90 percent of respondents agreed with further lowering the smoking prevalence. He added that the measures are proposed after also considering the expected outcomes, the public’s acceptance level and practical execution of law enforcement agencies. 

Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin said there are over 570,000 daily smokers in Hong Kong and the latest prevalence stands at 9.1 percent. Data also revealed that the younger the smokers are the more likely they will opt for flavored cigarettes. 

Commissioner of Customs Louise Ho Pui-shan said a recent large-scale enforcement operation saw officers detected 4,726 cases, seized 139 million illicit cigarettes and 1,630 kg of other tobacco products. 

The goods were worth about HK$635 million with a potential duty of about HK$454 million. A total of 4,347 people were arrested, she added. 

She also hit back at criticism that the government incomes generated through tobacco sales dropped due to the duty raise, saying that the number of the duty-paid cigarettes plummeted from 3.37 billion in 2019 to 2.97 billion in 2023 with the prevalence declining simultaneously. 

Dicky Chow Ka-chun, head of Healthcare and Social Innovation at Our Hong Kong Foundation welcomes the measures.

He believes that the duty-paid cigarette labeling system will help combat the sale of illegal tobacco products, and banning alternative cigarette products can further incentivize smoking cessation and deter young people from taking up the habit.

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