Designating large areas as no-smoking zones could be a way to stamp out people's habit of lighting up while walking, a health official said on Saturday, as the government moved to put a slew of tobacco-control measures in place from next year.

Among the 10 measures announced by the administration was banning smoking while one's queuing up for public transport or at the entrances of a number of premises.

But the authorities had not mentioned regulating people from lighting up while walking, which deputy health secretary Eddie Lee said is still on the government's agenda.

"We haven't given up on studying the possibility of regulating against smoking while walking," Lee told an RTHK programme.

"By creating larger non-smoking areas, we can stop people from smoking when standing still and lighting up while walking."

He believes people will refrain from lighting up in crowded areas or queues for public transport but concedes that it might be difficult to determine if smokers would be violating the law in some cases.

One such case, Lee said, would be people smoking while waiting for a bus under a building's canopy on a rainy day without forming a queue.