Smoke-free Hong Kong, Government's Long-term Goal

The Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Saturday that the government still has a long-term goal of creating a smoke-free Hong Kong.

Speaking after attending a radio programme, she said the government's decision to regulate e-cigarettes and related products rather than opt for a outright ban was pragmatic.

But Chan said the administration will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen measures when necessary.

"Regarding e-cigarettes and [other related] cigarettes, the government thinks that they are harmful," Chan said. "Therefore, we have to strengthen our existing regulation on these products. In terms of regulation, we have already proposed a number of strengthening measures, in addition to the existing measures. There is a range of regulatory measures that we can do."

"Of course, banning is also one of the measures in terms of regulation. Our pragmatic approach is to quickly strengthen our existing measures. For example, people who are under 18 would not be able to get these products and advertisements on these products will not be allowed. This is our first step."

Chan went on to say "we will continue to monitor the situation, including international regulations, the recommendations from the World Health Organization, any new or existing research, and also our local smoking prevalence and the use of these products. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and work very closely with medical and health professionals to see if we should come up with an even more stringent regulation."

When asked when would Hong Kong become completely smoke-free, Chan said: "it is very difficult to project the number of years to achieve a smoke-free Hong Kong. This is towards the endgame of building a smoke-free Hong Kong. It is definitely our long-term goal."

"We will continue to protect the health of our citizens and to safeguard them against all these different harmful products. We will come up with a plan of different measures of tobacco control so that our citizens will be protected. We will eventually arrive at decreasing smoking prevalence, and ultimately a smoke-free Hong Kong," she added.