Editorial | Flavoured cigarettes leave bad taste for all

It came as a breath of fresh air when the government vowed to pass 10 short-term measures before the end of this year to further reduce the smoking rate – now down to 9.1 per cent. Seven months have passed and the clock to stub out the targeted tobacco products is fast ticking away. Controversial as they are, the legislative proposals are in the interest of public health and should be passed and implemented as soon as possible.

The rationale behind further tightening control, including a ban on flavoured cigarettes and possessing alternative tobacco products, was well explained last year when the Health Bureau doubled down on its 2018 goal to cut the smoking rate to 7.8 per cent by 2025.

Tobacco with added flavours is often marketed to youngsters and women as a “healthier” alternative to smoking standard cigarettes. But experts warn that additives may contain sugar-coating toxins, which mask the bitterness and smell of tobacco with a cooling sensation that makes smokers inhale more deeply, thereby allowing harmful substances to go deeper into their lungs.

If more evidence is needed to step up actions against the products, the findings of a new study commissioned by the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health provide it.

The study found that 3 per cent of 14,440 primary school pupils and 8 per cent of 28,395 secondary school students polled in 2022 and 2023 had tried smoking products. Most of them turned to flavoured smoking for their first experience, and those who started with such products were also more likely to become daily cigarette smokers, according to the study.

A separate survey involving 5,600 respondents also found that half of current smokers used flavoured cigarettes, while 71 per cent of female smokers opted for such products. Among female smokers, aged 15 to 29, the use of flavoured cigarettes reached 86 per cent.