Safeguarding public health – Call for a total ban on flavoured tobacco and possession of alternative smoking products

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Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) and academics from The University of Hong Kong released new tobacco control surveys which show a higher rate of flavoured cigarette use among teenagers and women. Mr Henry TONG Sau-chai, COSH Chairman, said, “Menthol, fruit, and other tobacco flavours added by the tobacco industry are a significant factor that encourages teenagers and women to first try and then continue smoking. Flavoured tobacco does harm to our next generation by increasing addiction levels among young people, making it harder for them to quit.” 

“In the long term, flavoured tobacco poses a major obstacle to decreasing the prevalence of smoking in Hong Kong and undoubtedly raises public health concerns.” Mr TONG said. “COSH urges the Government to institute a total ban on flavoured tobacco as soon as possible and to implement multiple short, medium, and long-term tobacco control measures to protect the health of Hong Kong residents by curbing this resurgent area of tobacco-related harm.”

Higher flavoured cigarette smoking rates in young adults and women

The Tobacco Control Policy-related Survey commissioned by COSH and conducted by The University of Hong Kong from January to May 2024 found that nearly half of current smokers use flavoured cigarettes, with higher rates among teenagers and women. Over 86 percent of female smokers aged 15-29 are using flavoured cigarettes, the highest among all age groups. Flavoured cigarettes have increased levels of addiction among young smokers, offering an easy lure for teenagers to fall into nicotine addiction. The survey found that nearly 40 percent (36.2 percent) of teenagers who use flavoured cigarettes are moderately to severely addicted, which is twice the rate of those using non-flavoured cigarettes (16.7 percent). The survey also indicated that young smokers of flavoured cigarettes are more likely to also be using alternative smoking products (including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products) and waterpipes.

Professor Kelvin WANG Man-ping, Professor, The School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong, said, “Teenagers and women are increasingly attracted to flavoured tobacco products, with preferences for particular flavours and brands. This phenomenon makes it more likely they will take up smoking, develop an addiction, and continue smoking as a habit. Certain flavourings (such as menthol, cocoa, sweeteners, etc.) used in flavoured cigarettes can promote the absorption of nicotine and enhance nicotine’s effects on the brain, thus exacerbating the addiction, leading smokers to smoke more frequently and for longer periods of time, and making it more difficult to quit the habit. According to the survey, over 70 percent of the public support banning flavoured tobacco products, and this percentage continues to rise – a clear indication of societal support for a ban on flavoured tobacco and of the urgent need for legislation.”

Flavoured tobacco leads to addiction in teenagers