Hong Kong to jail, fine those possessing, using vapes in public from April 2026
Smoking will also be prohibited while residents queue at arts and sports facilities, clinics and other places from next year, according to bill
Possessing or vaping alternative smoking products such as e-cigarettes in public will be against the law in Hong Kong starting from April 30 next year, with offenders facing a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a HK$50,000 (US$6,400) fine.
The tightened control was one of 10 short-term measures the government announced in 2024 to further reduce the city’s smoking rate to 7.8 per cent by this year.
An amended bill that includes more details of the proposed measures was gazetted on Friday and will be submitted to the Legislative Council for a first reading on Wednesday.
According to the bill, residents will be banned from smoking while queuing to enter certain places, including sports and arts facilities, health clinics and spaces for lining up for public transport. Offenders will be fined a fixed penalty of HK$3,000.
Deputy Secretary for Health Eddie Lee Lik-kong said on Friday authorities aimed to further reduce the prevalence of tobacco, limit the impact of second-hand smoke and better safeguard public health.
“The amount of people who smoke every day is 9.1 per cent of the population, meaning there are 580,000 smokers in Hong Kong. The economic loss from smoking is actually significant,” Lee said.