Letters | Hong Kong vaping ban would be first step to a smoke-free city

Banning vaping helps to create an appropriate environment for all tobacco products to be outlawed

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Banning e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products may help cut the overall number of smokers in Hong Kong. Photo: AP

Published: 1:31pm, 11 Nov 2018Updated: 1:30pm, 11 Nov 2018

On October 10, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor presented her second policy address. One of the most notable items was arguably the proposal to ban e-cigarettes and new tobacco products, such as heat-not-burn and herbal cigarettes.

While many in the city have opposed some of her other proposals, such as the artificial islands project off Lantau , the plan to ban vaping is laudable.

First, banning e-cigarettes and new tobacco products could be the initial step towards achieving the long-term goal of a smoke-free Hong Kong. Traditional cigarettes have been imported and consumed for decades, and a sudden outright ban would be impractical. But banning vaping products, which are still relatively new to the market, would prevent their gaining popularity.

Simultaneously, the government should regularly review its regulations on traditional cigarettes, such as tax and import laws, to create disincentives for smokers and importers and eventually scale down the number of smokers. Banning vaping thus helps to create an appropriate environment for all tobacco products to be outlawed in the city.

Heat-not-burn smoking devices are displayed at a shop in Hong Kong. A proposal to ban e-cigarettes and new tobacco products shows the government’s determination to protect public health. Photo: AP