Hong Kong Drops Planned Bill to Ban Vape Sales

On June 11, reports from Vaping360 and Hong Kong media indicated that the Hong Kong Legislative Council has abandoned plans to ban the sale of electronic vapor products, at least for now. Since the Chief Executive of Hong Kong made a speech 19 months ago, advocates for electronic cigarettes and harm reduction have been fighting against the proposed ban.

The Legislative Council's Bills Committee concluded discussions last week on the bill to ban electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs, also known as heated non-combustion products). According to the Manila Standard, the committee has been studying the bill since March 2019, holding six meetings and three public hearings.

Some legislators on the committee strongly opposed the ban, arguing that denying smokers access to lower-risk nicotine products is unjust.

Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of the Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, stated that legislators like Peter Shui, Raymond Chan, and Cheng Chunt-tai have repeatedly argued that the ban is neither logical nor feasible.

Dr. Feng Ying, head of the Hong Kong Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, told local media that the government will propose another bill in the next Legislative Council session to ban the use of electronic cigarettes.

Dr. Feng stated that at this stage, our most urgent task is to educate the public about the risks of heated tobacco products and to prevent misleading claims that they pose lower risks while observing trends.

The original bill aimed to prohibit the sale, manufacture, import, distribution, or promotion of vapor and HTP products, imposing a maximum six-month imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 HKD (approximately 6,370 USD) on violators. Hong Kong even planned to confiscate products brought into the region by tourists.

The stated purpose of the ban was to prevent young people from using combustible tobacco products.

In October 2018, anti-smoking activists from the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) opposed the regulatory plan, instead calling for a complete ban or imposing such high taxes on products that they would be as difficult to obtain as cigarettes.

COSH stated in a June statement that if products are available on the market, they should be taxed in the same manner as tobacco, and their prices should not be lower than those of cigarettes to avoid attracting the public to use tobacco due to lower prices. In Hong Kong, the price of cigarettes is about 57 HKD (approximately 7.30 USD).

In February 2019, the Deputy Secretary for Food and Health, Dr. Sophia Chan, stated, "We hope that these alternative products will not be so easily available on the market before they become truly popular. We are concerned that young people who are not regular tobacco users may be attracted to these seemingly cool alternative products and become smokers through vaping. We want to nip the problem in the bud."

Many electronic cigarette products produced in Shenzhen are transported to various parts of the world through Hong Kong's large shipping facilities.

As reported last year, law enforcement agencies will gain more power to regulate electronic cigarettes rather than those violating public smoking laws. The bill does not impose any restrictions on the sale or import of cigarettes.

Last year, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) estimated that 35,000 UK e-cigarette users visit Hong Kong annually. The UK advocacy organization urged British tourists who use e-cigarettes to think twice before traveling to Hong Kong if the ban is passed.

Reports from Hong Kong media indicated that officials said that despite a study showing that smoking rates in Hong Kong have remained stable in recent years, the number of people using heated tobacco products is expected to surge.

A study by the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office indicated that daily users of such products number about 13,100, accounting for 0.2% of all residents aged 15 and above. This was the first survey to investigate statistics on heated tobacco products.

These products are electronic devices that heat tobacco using technology rather than igniting and burning it like traditional cigarettes.

Dr. Feng Ying stated on Monday that the use of heated tobacco products is expected to increase in the future, as we have not prohibited their use.

Her comments came after the Legislative Council's Bills Committee concluded its review of an amendment proposing to ban alternative smoking products, such as heated non-combustion devices.

Dr. Feng expressed disappointment with the outcome and vowed to propose another bill in the next Legislative Council session.

She stated that at this stage, our most urgent task is to educate the public about the risks of heated tobacco products and to prevent misleading claims that they pose lower risks while observing trends.

The latest household survey on smoking patterns found that the number of daily cigarette users aged 15 and above rose slightly from 10% in 2017 to 10.2% last year.

Hong Kong's daily smoking rate remains one of the lowest in the world, with the average daily consumption for smokers at 12.7 cigarettes.

In a school-based survey conducted between October 2018 and July 2019, approximately 52,000 students found that the smoking rate among 15 to 19-year-olds had declined over the past decade. The smoking rate and e-cigarette usage rate among primary school students remained unchanged at 0.1% and 1.4%, respectively.

For middle school students in grades one to six, the smoking rate decreased by 1 percentage point to 1.5%, while the e-cigarette usage rate decreased by 7.7%.

The survey also found that 2.3% of middle school students and 0.8% of students in grades four to six had used heated tobacco products.

However, the study added that due to the small number of smokers, it is difficult to accurately estimate the percentage of teenage smokers.

Dr. Feng stated that although the overall smoking rate remains similar to the last survey, the government is very concerned that the smoking rate has not decreased further. Furthermore, even if the number of people using alternative smoking products is small, the government will continue to closely monitor the situation and increase efforts to promote the harms of these smoking products.

Additionally, according to Hong Kong Radio, the government stated that it will restart plans to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes after the Legislative Council elections in September, insisting that a comprehensive ban is the most effective measure to prevent these products from taking root in Hong Kong.

A government spokesperson expressed deep regret and disappointment over the Legislative Council Bills Committee's announcement on Tuesday to cease all discussions on the legislation due to insufficient time to complete the process.

He stated that the government will submit the legislation to the next session of the Legislative Council when the opportunity arises, and the entire legislative process must start over.