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80% of bar patrons in Hong Kong discouraged by proposed tobacco ban: poll

Hong Kong ban on e-cigarette cartridges expected to start in mid-2026

Malaysia has to clear the air on vaping laws

Malaysian parents urged to educate children on vapes as government holds back on ban

Smoking and vaping

Can Asia kick its smoking habit?

This Week in Asia

Can big smoking India aim for ‘tobacco endgame’ with higher tax rather than an outright ban?

A Hindu holy man smokes ‘bidi’, or a small hand-rolled Indian cigarette, in Allahabad. File photo: AP

An Indian sadhu smokes inside his tent at the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad. Photo: AFP

More women are smoking as India liberalises. Photo: Reuters

Indian film actor Shah Rukh Khan smokes as he watches a polo match in New Delhi. Photo: AFP

A woman smokes a bidi or local cigarette hand-rolled with tobacco leaf on a roadside in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters

A man walks past an advertisement showing Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan smoking in one of his films at a cinema hall in Mumbai. Photo: Reuters

 A man passes a cigarette to another while smoking on a pavement in New Delhi, India. Photo: Reuters

New Delhi may find popular and cheap filterless ‘bidis’ and chewing tobacco are harder to stub out than traditional cigarettes.


Banning public smoking indoors in the Philippines: could it help 16 million people kick the habit?

Anti-smoking protesters gather in Manila on March 20, 2013. Photo: AFP

Rofwiel, 14, lights a cigarette at his tenement in Tondo, the Philippines. Photo: Geela Garcia

Tap to enlarge

Rofwiel, 14, smokes with his friends at his tenement in Tondo, Manila. Photo: Geela Garcia

Fisherman Rodmar Dayao smokes in his boat to warm himself up. Photo: Geela Garcia

A local store in Pasig city with a handwritten sign saying it does not stock cigarettes. Photo: Geela Garcia

A bill seeking to ban almost all public smoking indoors is currently before the Philippine Congress – but advocates say education and community emphasis is also key to reducing tobacco addiction.


Malaysia’s divisive smoking debate a sign of what’s to come for Singapore, New Zealand and other countries mulling age-based bans

A construction worker takes a smoke break in Kuala Lumpur. File photo: AFP 

Women smoke electronic cigarettes at the VapeFair in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AFP

A construction worker smokes a cigarette in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AFP

No-smoking signs at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Handout

Cigarette butts in a public ashtray in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Studies suggest almost half of Malaysian men smoke. Photo: AFP

Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin has sparked controversy with his proposal to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2005.


Anti-tobacco advocates have for years pushed for a “tobacco endgame”, where young people will be banned from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetimes. Now, several countries are contemplating just that. New Zealand got the ball rolling when it announced its intention to gradually raise the minimum smoking age so that it would be illegal for anyone born after 2008 to buy cigarettes. The Post looks at discussions on kicking the habit in Malaysia, India and the Philippines.


Series

Can Asia kick its smoking habit?

Could raising tax help big smoking India finally kick the habit?

New Delhi may find popular and cheap filterless ‘bidis’ and chewing tobacco are harder to stub out than traditional cigarettes.

Philippines has 16 million smokers. Can a ban help them quit?

A bill seeking to ban almost all public smoking indoors is currently before the Philippine Congress – but advocates say education and community emphasis is also key to reducing tobacco addiction.

‘Tobacco endgame?’: Malaysia’s divided over plan for age-based smoking ban

Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin has sparked controversy with his proposal to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2005.