Smoking may soon become a thing of the past for people in Hong Kong if a lifetime ban comes into effect. Photo credit: Bruce Mars on StockSnap.
Hong Kong is the latest government to be taken with the idea of a lifetime tobacco ban, in this case for anyone born in or after 2009.
Lo Chung-mau, Hong Kong’s secretary for health, said the government will consider restricting tobacco sales to future generations in an effort to further reduce young smoking, reports the South China Morning Post.
“We should not let our guard down despite Hong Kong having one of the world’s lowest smoking rates,” he said. “Let our new generations no longer be tempted and harmed by tobacco products. Gradually raising the legal age for buying tobacco products and making the next generation not able to buy tobacco products legally forever are among the options.”
Lo stated that the government would consider other cities' experiences in preventing young people from picking up the habit and work towards a "smoke-free Hong Kong" without going into greater detail about how such a strategy would be implemented.
Lo also reportedly said the government is moving towards increasing tobacco tax and tightening restrictions on the advertising of tobacco products.
In his first policy speech, chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu stated that tobacco control efforts must be stepped up. He set a goal to further lower the smoking rate to 7.8% by 2025, and a public consultation on the next steps will begin next year.
The smoking rate was 9.5% in 2021, which meant that 581,000 adults who were 15 or older were daily conventional cigarette smokers. Smoking prevalence in Hong Kong decreased from 23% in 1982 to 10.2% in 2019 since the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance was passed.
Hong Kong currently bans the sale of smoking products to anyone under the age of 18. It also bans the import, promotion, manufacture, sale or possession of alternative smoking products including e-cigarettes, herbal cigarettes, and heated tobacco products.
Peter Shiu Ka-fai, a legislator from the pro-business Liberal Party, said he would not oppose raising the legal age for buying cigarettes, but that a total ban on those born after a specific year would be too “extreme” a measure.
“Hong Kong is a free society. People should be allowed free choice. And bear in mind New Zealand does not ban electronic cigarettes and the like,” he added.