Bar industry fumes over moves to tighten smoking curbs

Staff reporters

An amendment bill to strengthen tobacco control - including a potential ban on non-menthol flavored cigarettes starting as early as next year - will be submitted to the Legislative Council in April amid bar industry worries that it might hamper the city's night economy.

Speaking on a TV program yesterday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said 10 tobacco-control measures will be included in the amendment, each with different implementation timelines.

Penalties for illegal tobacco will be increased and taxed cigarettes will have labeling for identification in 2026. Following that, a ban on non-menthol flavored cigarettes will be implemented, with a ban on menthol cigarettes to come later.

No specific time line for the new restrictions has been set. The arrangement will also apply to flavored water pipes, also known as hookah or shisha.

Lo said 40 percent of smokers use flavored cigarettes, with over half preferring menthol.

"Menthol cigarettes have a longer history, which is why we hope the policy can be implemented gradually. We want to start with non-menthol as a pilot."

All imported cigarettes for sale in the future will need "certification to verify whether they contain these flavoring ingredients."

Lo said flavored cigarettes are a key focus for the government, adding: 'We've seen significant opposition, especially from tobacco companies, which shows that this hits their core interests."

He noted that incoming travelers, including Hong Kong residents, can still bring in 19 flavored cigarettes tax-free under the ban.

Once taxed, they can bring in more for personal use, which has been "initially estimated at up to 20 packs."

Regarding e-cigarettes - which have been banned from import and sale since 2022 but are still legal to own - Lo indicated that a complete ban may be necessary due to their recent misuse in concealing "space-oil drugs."

A transition period will be provided for citizens to dispose of their stock, with plans to implement the ban by mid-2026, Lo said.

But wholesale and retail sector lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai from the Liberal Party opposed the blanket ban, arguing that such a move would be excessive and difficult to enforce.

Shiu said that very few places globally impose simultaneous bans on alternative smoking products and flavored cigarettes, emphasizing the need to respect the choices of adult smokers.

He also cast doubt on the enforcement of the ban, noting that individuals caught with flavored cigarattes could easily claim they brought the products from abroad.

Ben Leung Lap-yan, charter president of the Licensed Bar and Club Association of Hong Kong, said there are customers opting to cross the border and drink in Shenzhen due to the absence of "stringent tobacco bans."

He said: "The government continuing to roll out stringent measures to ban tobacco is not boosting the economy, but pushing the bar industry down a cliff."

He added that the government is rolling out measures to promote night economy across the city, but the series of tobacco-control measures are driving away tourists that are also smokers.