Editorial | Stiffer rules on smoking a step towards a healthier Hong Kong

The authorities have ramped up inspections at bus stops and tourist spots under new rules banning smoking while queuing or near designated facilities. Smoking is prohibited within three metres of the entrance to schools, childcare centres and hospitals. Fines for smoking-related offences have been doubled to HK$3,000 (US$385).

Hopefully, more visible inspections and the threat of larger fines will have a psychological effect that prompts smokers to exercise restraint in the streets. This would please some lawmakers who want the government to prohibit “smoking while walking”, which refers to in-your-face pollution of the air pedestrians breathe. But there is more to be said for a carrot and stick approach by officials to get smokers on side through visible enforcement or raising awareness. Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office head Manny Lam Man-chung said that in stepping up inspections, officers would issue penalty tickets to smokers who fail to observe the new rules but would be more lenient in marginal cases.

“If smokers are clearly standing within three metres of an entrance, we will issue penalty tickets immediately … for those who are unaware, just passing by or standing on the boundary of the area, we will first give them advice or a warning,” Lam said on a radio show.

The new measures are among those passed last year, including bans on possessing or using alternative smoking products in public by April, as well as on selling flavoured cigarettes other than menthol varieties by 2027. Supporters say non-menthol flavours popular among young people should be tackled first and that banning menthol now could push people towards the black market. Critics say the decision undermines other measures. Officials should watch trends and be ready to review the menthol exemption.