A government official and an anti-smoking advocate on Wednesday said the ban on alternative smoking products will not impose additional restrictions on smokers but will enhance the protection of young people and prevent them from developing smoking habits.

Their remarks came a day before a ban comes into effect on the possession or use in public of alternative smoking products, such as vapes, e-cigarettes, or heated tobacco.

Anyone who violates the law faces a fine of up to HK$50,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.

Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Grace Wong, senior medical and health officer at the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Department of Health, highlighted the potential danger of alternative smoking products for young people.

She said overseas figures and findings have shown that such products can quickly spread among young people and penetrate schools rapidly with their trendy designs and multiple flavours.

She noted that adolescents who have used e-cigarettes are three to four times more likely to start smoking conventional cigarettes in the future.

"These findings underscore the significant public health concerns... the product may serve as an entry point to long-term tobacco use rather than a means of harm reduction," she said, calling on the public to stop using such products from now on.

Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health chief Henry Tong told the same programme that the ban will send a very clear message to both young people and adults that alternative smoking products are really harmful.

He also said the new values education framework released by the Education Bureau this month for all secondary and primary schools will teach students about the harm of e-cigarettes and bring Hong Kong a step closer to being a smoke-free society.

"With the cooperation of parents, teachers, and the Education Bureau, we believe that we will continuously strengthen tobacco control education in Hong Kong's education system," he said.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden