FEATURE
HONG
KONG’S
SURPRISE
BAN ON
ALL VAPING
PRODUCTS
New policy will ban the importation, manufacture,
sale, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes
and traditional cigarettes could be targeted next.
By Patrick Griffin
Vaping products, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes
will be banned in Hong Kong as part of a raft of social policy
measures announced by the government.
Under the new law it will be illegal to import, manufacture, sell, distribute
or advertise e-cigarettes or next-generation tobacco products.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced
the move as part of a wide-ranging policy address in which nearly 250
initiatives covering housing, health care and welfare were announced.
She said there was, “a lack of sufficient evidence to prove that
vaping products can help quit smoking,” adding that a ban was
needed because the interests of children had to take priority over
the interests of helping smokers to quit tobacco.
However, critics say that if protecting children was so important
then the government should also ban cigarettes and alcohol.
The day after Lam announced the vaping ban she suggested
during a radio interview that it was also worth considering banning
traditional tobacco products in Hong Kong.
She reportedly said that while she was “bold enough to impose a
total ban on traditional tobacco, there are a lot of pros and cons
that needed to be considered before doing so.”
The move came as a shock to many as the government had
previously only talked about regulating e-cigarettes in the same
way tobacco products are regulated.
The South China Morning Post reported that the previous administration
had considered imposing a total ban in 2016 but shelved the idea amid
concerns that it would be too difficult to implement.
The new ban has sparked furious criticism as vaping and tobacco
groups say it will only serve to boost the market in illegal black
market sales and do nothing to protect minors.
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