Parents Want Blanket Smoking Ban, Survey Says

A survey of more than 9,000 parents has found strong support for the government to go much further in its proposed vaping ban, with three-quarters of respondents saying authorities should set out a timetable to make it illegal to use all forms of cigarettes – electronic or tobacco – as well.

The government is seeking to ban all imports, production, distribution and promotion of e-cigarettes, but according to proposed legislative amendments, it will still be legal for vapers to use any products bought before the ban is implemented.

But the survey, conducted by the Committee on Home-School Cooperation, found that 75 percent of the respondents don’t think this is good enough, and there should be a total ban on vaping. A similar number support a ban on tobacco cigarettes.

Even among smokers who responded to the survey, 60 percent agree that at some point, it should be illegal to use e-cigarettes, while 52 percent say a total ban on tobacco cigarettes should be sought as soon as possible.

The committee says it thinks smokers may support a total smoking ban even though it’ll affect them directly because all the respondents are parents who don’t want their children to take up the habit.

The group’s chairman, Henry Tong, said the government should take a stronger stance, and allowing people to use e-cigarettes “might be a wrong message to young people that smoking e-cigarettes is ok as long as no one knows how I got it."