The government will continue to develop Hong Kong into a smoke-free city despite challenges, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said.

The health authorities recently rolled out 10 tobacco-control measures, including a ban on flavoured cigarettes, alternative smoking products and smoking while queuing.

In an interview with RTHK marking the third year of Chief Executive John Lee's administration and the SAR's 28th anniversary, Lo said the authorities do appreciate that many residents are against the behaviour of smoking while walking, but Hong Kong is not ready to ban such action.

“We have to consider the difficulty in law enforcement. Hong Kong is a crowded city with a high population density, especially in urban areas. Therefore, it would be hard to define whether a smoker is moving or standing still, and the area affected by the smoker. After consideration, we believe law enforcement will encounter some resistance and difficulties,” he said.

To regulate outdoor smoking step by step, the city would first ban smoking while queuing which should see fewer disputes in law enforcement, Lo said, adding the government will find a way to combat smoking at busy areas in the next step.

The health minister also said a smoke-free Hong Kong will be welcome by most people despite resistance from tobacco merchants.

He added Shanghai has made some tourism hotspots smoke-free, showing anti-smoking has become a global trend.