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Joshua Kwok

Nearly 70 per cent of Hongkongers aged under 25 have tried e-cigarettes, while 60 per cent said they picked alternative tobacco products because of peer pressure, a university study has found.
Separate research by another university found that more than one-third of regular smokers supported plain packaging for cigarettes, which Hong Kong plans to implement in 2027.
The government proposed 10 tobacco control measures in June last year, including plain packaging requirements and banning flavoured cigarettes, as well as alternative smoking products (ASPs) such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes.
“The lack of the traditional horrid tobacco odour, together with promotions online, has deceived teenagers into thinking that ASPs like e-cigarettes are less harmful and will not affect others,” Eva Ho Ka-yan, an associate professor at PolyU’s nursing school, said on Friday.
“It is extremely easy for teenagers to come into contact with ASPs if they go to clubs or bars. There are even videos on YouTube showing them how to set up a water pipe to smoke at home, which brings these activities back to their homes and turns them into daily routines.”
A research programme by the school randomly approached about 2,000 people, while another 2,500 had called it to inquire about services to help them quit smoking.
The research found that 69.3 per cent of all those aged under 25 had tried e-cigarettes at least once before.
Of the 4,500 people, 573 took part in telephone counselling from June 2023 to November last year, with 61.1 per cent saying they smoked due to peer pressure and 20.8 per cent to relieve stress.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Nethersole School of Nursing also surveyed 1,253 smokers from 2023 to 2024 at smoking hotspots. It found that almost all respondents said they were daily smokers, with 59.1 per cent smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day.
The school’s Professor William Li Ho-cheung said the survey found that the plain packaging policy gained support from the public, including heavy smokers.
Among the smokers, 35.7 per cent supported plain packaging.
Current legislation requires 85 per cent of cigarette packaging to be covered with pictorial health warnings. Li said cigarette companies tended to use the other 15 per cent of space to promote their brands and products.
“Some have misleading information and advertisements in the free space with attractive colours and branding, like saying ‘tobacco is cool’ and ‘this tobacco is less harmful than others’,” he said.
Li pointed to the World Health Organization’s advocacy on plain packaging, saying he supported its implementation in Hong Kong, scheduled for 2027, as he believed it could effectively reduce people’s willingness to smoke.
“More than 30 countries have enforced tobacco plain packaging. Take Australia as an example; its overall smoking rate dropped by 0.55 per cent solely because of plain packaging,” Li said.
Dr Manny Lam Man-chung, head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, said the 0.55 per cent number was significant.
“The percentage may seem very low, but because it’s in terms of overall smoking percentage, when more than 100,000 people quit because of the package, we can consider it as being successful,” Lam said.

“Quit in June” is a Department of Health campaign to encourage smokers to kick the habit in light of the WHO’s World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
As in previous years, the government will distribute one-week nicotine replacement therapy trial packages at more than 250 locations and Chinese medicine ear point patches, which will last about two weeks, at over 200 sites to help smokers quit.
Locations include district health centres, health department clinics and Chinese medicine clinics.
“Residents can choose the Chinese or Western method, whichever suits them better,” Lam said.
He said the smoking cessation hotline had hit peaks during June and when the tobacco tax was increased, which showed the effectiveness of both policies.
Following the previous legislation to ban imports of alternative smoking products in April 2022, Ho mentioned that ASP smokers could possibly transition to traditional cigarettes as they run out of stock.
When asked how the government should tackle the problem, she said: “It is important [to note] that ASPs and traditional cigarettes are equally harmful. Our programme has done a lot of outreach, educating teenagers about their harmfulness.”
“However, our programme is not systematic and comprehensive enough. Thus, we fully support the government’s 10 tobacco control measures.”


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70% of Hongkongers under 25 have tried e-cigarettes: university poll

A woman smokes an e-cigarette in Mong Kok. More than one-third of regular smokers polled said they supported plain packaging, according to one university poll. Photo: Eugene Lee

(From left) PolyU associate professor Eva Ho, the Department of Health’s Manny Lam, and CUHK’s Professor William Li are involved in a government anti-smoking “Quit in June” campaign. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Some 60 per cent of respondents also say they picked flavoured cigarettes or other alternative tobacco products due to peer pressure


Some 60 per cent of respondents also say they picked flavoured cigarettes or other alternative tobacco products due to peer pressure.


70% of Hongkongers under 25 have tried e-cigarettes: university poll

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some 60 per cent of respondents also say they picked flavoured cigarettes or other alternative tobacco products due to peer pressure

Some 60 per cent of respondents also say they picked flavoured cigarettes or other alternative tobacco products due to peer pressure