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Smoking and vaping

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Smoking and vaping
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Smoking and vaping. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
E-cigarettes cartridges have become the subject of mounting public scrutiny in recent months over their use to conceal a new drug dubbed “space oil”. Photo: Nora Tam
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Exclusive | Hong Kong plans to ban vaping, possessing e-cigarette cartridges in public: source

Move is first of two-phase citywide ban on alternative smoking and flavoured tobacco products, insider says.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong needs total ban on flavoured cigarettes, anti-smoking group says

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Wellness

Smokers, want to earn more money? Then quit, new study says

Wellness

Time to stop smoking? Study shows a smartwatch app could help

Smartwatch app detects movements that indicate smoking, sends vibration alert, a text offering moral support and tally of cigarettes smoked.

The app developed and tested by UK researchers for smartwatches sends a vibration alert and text message when the watch detects motions that indicate the wearer is smoking. Photo: University of Bristol
Asia travel

Vietnam bans vapes, to impose fines for users and jail producers

Country joins others including Singapore, Thailand, India and Australia in banning travellers from bringing in e-cigarettes.

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Italy

Milan cracks down on outdoor smoking in Italy’s toughest ban

Italy’s second-largest city imposes an almost complete ban on smoking in public, with fines of up to US$250 for violations.

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Crime in Hong Kong

Exclusive | Hong Kong to slap tobacco products with laser labels to root out contraband

Sources say authorities studying updating law to introduce new labelling system, which involves goods being marked with laser.

A pack of contraband cigarettes goes for between HK$20 and HK$30 on the black market. Photo: May Tse
European Union

Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU

The European country follows Australia in rolling out stricter laws governing the use of vapes.

Crime in Hong Kong

Cigarette smuggling activities in Hong Kong surpass pre-pandemic levels: customs

Between January and November, authorities cracked 19,459 cases involving black market cigarettes, representing a 65 per cent increase over the total for all of last year.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Letters | Hong Kong’s third medical school must have sizeable teaching hospital

Readers discuss a vital resource for medical training, Hong Kong’s healthcare priorities and the need for vigilance over property transactions.

Queen Mary Hospital is part of the teaching hospital of the University of Hong Kong medical school. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong authorities warn that e-cigarettes could be tools for drug abuse

Devices could be used to consume illegal substances or products with higher concentrations of nicotine that cause greater addiction.

Different designs of disposable e-cigarette devices displayed by health authorities at a press briefing on Wednesday. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung
Britain

UK lawmakers vote in favour of some of world’s strictest anti-smoking rules

If passed, the bill would stop anyone 15 or younger this year from ever buying cigarettes, and also make vapes less appealing.

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Malaysia

Terengganu becomes second Malaysian state to ban e-cigarettes

The rise of vaping in Malaysia over the past year was spurred by the exemption of nicotine-laced vape products from the Poisons Act.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s healthcare system faces US$82 million vaping bill

The government’s decision to legalise nicotine-laced vape products has worsened the healthcare crisis, despite efforts to limit access.

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People smoking electronic cigarettes during the Vape Fair in Kuala Lumpur in December 2015. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Would ending Hong Kong liquor tax and delaying shisha ban help bar business?

Hong Kong Bar and Club Association urges measures to help revitalise industry amid growing trend of cross-border spending.

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Total bar receipts in the first half of the year reached HK$611 million, a 13.6 per cent drop from HK$694 million in the same period last year. Photo: Nora Tam
Hong Kong economy

Flavoured cigarette ban in Hong Kong may deter mainland tourists: expert

Poll of tour operators finds mainland’s 300 million smokers may think twice about visiting city if Hong Kong implements stricter measures.

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Wellness

How, for IBS sufferers, lifestyle changes can end the discomfort

A Hong Kong study identifies 5 lifestyle changes that lower the risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome. A sufferer confirms they work.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s vape sector pleads for ‘opportunity to breathe’ as smoking laws loom

Industry seeks more time to offload inventories, saying rules aimed at kicking addiction among under 18s being rolled out without consultation.

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The legislation will also require that vape products be kept off counters in Malaysian supermarkets and sundry shops. Photo: AFP
Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs seizes HK$33 million of illicit cigarettes hidden on tugboat

Officers arrest three men, aged from 26 to 57, after searching vessel and finding 7.4 million black-market cigarettes in hidden compartment.

Wellness

US city makes it illegal to vape or smoke at home, even on balcony

Smoking and vaping have been banned in some residential buildings in Carlsbad, California. Many residents are happy to be rid of second-hand smoke, but not everyone is on board with the measure.

Indonesia

Pro-tobacco activists say Indonesia’s cigarette rules are a drag on business

Pro-tobacco activists oppose a ban on selling individual cigarettes, claiming the move will impact businesses and goes against Indonesia’s smoking culture.

Cigarette butts are seen on the ashtray in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Indonesia raises smoking age limit, bans single cigarette sales

Indonesia raised the minimum age limit for purchasing cigarettes to 21 from 18 as part of a series of changes to health regulations intended to curb the deadly habit.

Anti-smoking advocates say some of the new regulations are not enough to curb smoking. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

High levels of cancer-causing particles found in some Hong Kong shisha bars: study

Researcher says concentration of PM2.5 particles in shisha bars a ‘very strong public health warning’, showing need to ban flavoured tobacco.

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South Korea

South Korea to probe Blackpink’s Jennie’s ‘vaping incident’ after online outrage

Smoking cigarettes or vapes indoors is illegal in South Korea, and footage of the K-pop star smoking a vape triggered online outrage, with Seoul’s foreign ministry saying it had received a formal complaint.

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Japan

For many Japanese, smoking at work comes with benefits despite health risks

Most people in a survey cited the professional benefits of lighting up at the workplace, a trend an anti-tobacco advocacy group says won’t last long.

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People gather around a smoking area in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong shisha bars warn proposed ban on flavoured cigarettes will ruin sector

Patrons may turn to illegal venues offering indoor shisha smoking if government goes ahead with ban, operators say.

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Smokers enjoy shisha on Knutsford Terrace in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong
United States

US surgeon general calls for tobacco-style warnings on social media platforms

Dr Vivek Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people.

Hong Kong society

Letters | Why not set a minimum price for cigarettes to further deter users?

Readers discuss recently unveiled measures to curb illicit cigarettes, why we need to study grammar in English classes, and passport cancellation for six people wanted for alleged national security offences.

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