Former Hong Kong health chief hopes to restore e-cigarette export ban

A former health chief of Hong Kong stated on Sunday that the government's allowance for e-cigarettes to be re-exported through the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is not ideal.

In April last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region implemented a ban on alternative smoking products.

However, there is an exemption for air transport re-exports, and authorities hope to extend this to sea and land transport to support the logistics industry.

The former health chief expressed concerns about the risks of this move, especially as Hong Kong aims to reduce its smoking population from the current 9.5% to 7.8%.

According to Radio Television Hong Kong, the Smoking and Health Council earlier stated that relaxing re-exports will inevitably increase the transfer of such products into the community and significantly undermine the effectiveness of the city's ban on alternative smoking products.

"Completely banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is challenging, but we have achieved it. The main reason for this is to reduce risks," Chan said.

"On one hand, we understand the government's need to boost the economy post-COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, we should advance smoking control for the health of the people and achieve the target of 7.8% by 2025."