Lawmakers Urged To Push Ahead With E-cigarettes Ban

Legislators have been urged not to give up on a bill to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes, with the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health warning that the law is much-needed to protect the public.

The council's appeal comes after the chairman of the relevant bills committee, Kwok Wai-keung, proposed suspending the vetting process, saying it would be "unrealistic" to expect the committee to finish its work before the end of Legco's term in July.

If the bill isn't passed by then it will expire and the government would have to begin the legislative process all over again after September's Legco elections if it still wants the law brought in.

Vienna Lai, executive director of the Council on Smoking and Health, said they are extremely disappointed by the suggestion to put the bill on the back burner.

"The government submitted the bill to the Legislative Council in early 2019. We have already conducted eight meetings and deputations and actually we got a lot of support from different sectors of society. We would be really disappointed if the bill stops here," Lai told RTHK's Priscilla Ng.

"If we cannot get the new legislation passed this year, we are afraid that the smoking prevalence in Hong Kong is very likely to bounce back. Because smokers use them [electronic cigarettes] as alternatives to tobacco products and we are afraid that this is a gateway for young people to take up smoking."

The government has proposed outlawing the supply, sale and promotion of e-cigarettes, with offenders to face a maximum penalty of six months in prison or a HK$50,000 fine. Using such products, however, would still be legal.