Tag: Hong Kong

Hong Kong to Consider Blanket Ban on Vapes

Junk boat in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong (Credit: Kamonrat)
Hong Kong announced plans for a complete prohibition on e-cigarettes, citing a “consensus” on the necessity for action and their impact on the health of youth.
The move comes nearly two years after the city banned the import, manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
“We will fully ban all alternative smoking products,” Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said at a news conference, reports Barron’s.
Hong Kong already bans the possession of e-cigarettes “for commercial purposes,” and the latest proposal would extend the ban to retail buyers, even if they intended to smoke in private.
Under existing laws, anyone in Hong Kong who imports e-cigarettes can be punished by up to seven years in jail and a fine of HK$2 million ($256,000), while sellers and manufacturers can be jailed for up to six months.
“A blanket ban on alternative smoking [vaping and heat-not-burn] products has become a consensus in society … It is time to ban all forms of possession of alternative smoking products, including for personal use,” said Deputy Secretary for Health Eddie Lee.
City officials also announced other smoking curbs, including a ban on smoking while standing in line in outdoor public areas and sharing cigarettes with minors.
The government also proposed banning flavored tobacco. Lo said he hoped the e-cigarette ban and other proposals would be introduced to the legislature this year.
June 8, 2024
Hong Kong Begins Consultation on Generational Ban
Junk boat in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong (Credit: Kamonrat)
Hong Kong has started a public health consultation held that includes a proposal for a generational ban on vaping and other tobacco products. Generational Bans are often referred to as “tobacco endgame” strategies.
Last year, Hong Kong’s Council on Smoking and Health proposed a generational ban to begin in 2027 that would outlaw vaping and other tobacco product sales to anyone born from 2009.
The public consultation consists of a nationwide survey which started last Wednesday and ends on September 30th.
Health minister Lo Chung-Mau said that the consultation is based on four anti-smoking strategies, among which a lifetime ban on cigarettes for locals born after a set date.
Hong Kong’s government has set a goal of reducing the percentage of adults who smoke from 9.5 percent in 2021 to 7.8 percent by 2025. To do so, it is exploring four strategies:

Regulate Supply, Suppress Demand
Ban Promotion, Reduce Attractiveness
Expand No Smoking Areas, Mitigate Harm,
Enhance Education, Support Cessation
The first two strategies mentioned for reducing tobacco use are increasing taxes and introducing new age restrictions.
“With the efforts on education and publicity over the years, the smoking prevalence of youth in Hong Kong has dropped to a low level,” said the document, though the government also believes that increasing the minimum age to purchase tobacco from its current requirement of 18-years-old to 21-years-old wouldn’t be effective, according to media reports. So instead, it’s considering what’s known as a generational tobacco ban.
New Zealand passed a generational ban late last year and recent efforts have been made to introduce additional bans in other countries, including bills in California, Hawaii and Nevada. Malaysia is also considering a generational ban.
The generational ban is just one of a litany of strategies mentioned in the document. Other regulations being considered include plain packaging, restrictions on retailers displaying products, nicotine limits and higher tobacco taxes.
July 31, 2023
Former Hong Kong Official Wants Export Ban Back

Credit: Zapper
A former health secretary in Hong Kong on Sunday said it is not ideal for the government to allow e-cigarettes to be re-exported via the Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
A ban on alternative smoking products came into force in the SAR in April last year.
But there was an exemption for re-export via air cargo and the authorities want to extend this to sea-to-air and land-to-air shipments, to support the logistics sector.
Former Secretary Sophia Chan said such a move would be risky, especially with Hong Kong aiming to further reduce its smoking population from the current 9.5 percent to 7.8 percent.
The Council on Smoking and Health said earlier that a relaxation regarding re-exports would inevitably increase the diversion of such products into the community and significantly weaken the effectiveness of the city’s ban on alternative smoking products, according to RTHK.
“The process to fully ban e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products was difficult, but we did it. The main reason we did it was to reduce the risk,” said Chan.
“On the one hand, we understand the government needs to boost the economy after the pandemic. But on the other hand, we should push ahead with tobacco control efforts for people’s health and to reach the 7.8 percent goal in 2025.”
May 28, 2023
Hong Kong to Lift Ban on Vaping Product Shipments

Credit: Skórzewiak
Air exports from Hong Kong will see a boost following a decision by the government to reverse a ban on the transshipment of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.
Media reports claim the banned cargo amounts to about 330,000 tons a year – the equivalent of some 10 percent of Hong Kong’s annual export volumes by air, according to the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA), according to Loadstar.
The value of the re-export cargo affected by the ban was estimated to exceed CNY120 billion ($17.33 billion).
While some transshipment by air had continued to be permitted, beginning in April of last year, vapes entering Hong Kong by land or sea for onward transport by air were banned. However, with the bulk of these products made in neighboring Dongguan, exporters were keen to ship them via land to Hong Kong International Airport.
Once the proposal is passed, the goods will be able to enter Hong Kong through a secure channel on dedicated barges and be delivered straight to the airport.
“The scheme is only to facilitate direct transshipment through Hong Kong and the goods will not be available for domestic consumption. The proposal is in response to the demand of the Hong Kong air freight industry”, said Willy Lin, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers Council.
“We hope we could get back some flights lost to competitor airports due to [the] stoppage of shipments of e-cigarettes and related substances through Hong Kong”.
March 23, 2023
Hong Kong Makes First CBD Arrest Since Start of Ban
Credit: Proxima Studio
Customs officers have made Hong Kong’s first arrest over cannabidiol (CBD) products after taking a clubhouse worker into custody when he showed up to collect a parcel from Denmark containing two bottles of the recently banned oil.
Officers found two more used bottles of the same CBD skin oil and four grams of cannabis buds from the man’s locker at the clubhouse of a residence in Yau Ma Tei on Wednesday, according to SCMP.
Combined with the banned CBD product, the haul was worth about HK$5,000 ($637).
The case was the first such arrest and seizure since CBD was added to the Dangerous Drug Ordinance, according to Isaac Tsang Yau-chuen, a senior investigator from the customs airport investigation division.
February 8, 2023
Hong Kong Begins Ban on CBD, Same Penalty as Heroin

Credit: Proxima Studio
Once legal in the city, Hong Kong began enforcing its ban on CBD, labeling it as a “dangerous drug” and imposing harsh penalties for its possession on Wednesday. The move is forcing fledging businesses to shut down or revamp.
THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana has long been illegal in Hong Kong.
CBD was once legal in the city, and cafes and shops selling CBD-infused products were popular among young people, according to AP.
But all that has changed with the prohibition, which took effect Wednesday but had been announced by the government last year. CBD-related businesses have closed down while others have struggled to remodel their businesses. Consumers dumped what they saw as a cure for their ailments into special collection boxes set up around the city.
The new rule reflects a zero-tolerance policy toward dangerous drugs in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous southern Chinese business hub, as well as in mainland China, where CBD was banned in 2022.
In contrast. the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently concluded that a new regulatory pathway for cannabidiol (CBD) is needed. The regulatory agency states it will seek guidance from the U.S. Congress. The new rules would need to balance individuals’ desire for access to CBD products with the regulatory oversight needed to manage risks.
February 1, 2023
Hong Kong Bans all CBD Products Beginning Feb. 1

Credit: Proxima Studio
Hong Kong announced that it will ban all products containing cannabidiol (CBD) beginning on Feb. 1. CBD will be added to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (DDO) and will join over 200 substances already listed in the ordinance (including fentanyl, ketamine, heroin, and many psychoactive compounds, eg lysergamides).
CBD will be added with the already covered “cannabinol and its tetrahydro derivatives (THC); and their 3-alkyl homologues.” Following this change, anyone who possesses or consumes CBD faces up to seven years in jail and fines of up to HK$1 million ($128,000). Manufacturers of CBD may also face life imprisonment, according to Lexology.
While many users around the world have been promoting the anxiolytic and pain-relieving properties of CBD, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau has taken the view that such claims “lack authoritative scientific proof”. This directive appears to be in line with the ban imposed in China last year for the use of CBD in cosmetic products.
From the Government reports it remains unclear as to whether other cannabinoids (e.g., CBG, CBDV, CBC, etc.) will be included in the ban. However, from the Narcotics Division memorandum in November, the main concern of the Government appears to be with CBD products that may contain some THC, either “through decomposition or conversion”, and the lack of international regulations for such products.
“It does appear that with better international regulation and scientific data it is conceivable that the policy around CBD may change again in the future,” the authors write. “Therefore, given that there are no restrictions in Hong Kong for pursuing patent protection for CBD and related technologies, it remains prudent to maintain patents and pending applications in Hong Kong for CBD-related innovations should the position in Hong Kong change, as we have seen in other countries in the region, such as South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.”
January 11, 2023
Hong Kong Wants to Allow Shipping of Illegal Vapes

Credit: Kal’vān
China’s government in Hong Kong said on Monday that it wants to allow shipments of illegal vaping products through Hong Kong. A move it says will help the city keep its status as an international logistics hub.
The Transport and Logistics Bureau told a Legislative Council (Legco) panel that there has been a significant downturn in air cargo volumes since the ban on the import, sale and manufacture of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products took effect in April.
During the meeting, Deputy Secretary for Transport and Logistics Pamela Lam said authorities want to exempt sea-to-air shipments of the vaping products from the ban, according to media reports.
“Our transshipment of air cargo has dropped from May to October this year by about 18 percent compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, Hong Kong’s status as an international logistics hub will be seriously undermined,” Lam said. “So whilst we want to ensure the ban on importation of alternative smoking products, we would like to keep our status as an international logistics hub.”
Lawmaker Frankie Yick, who represents the logistics sector, said the authorities should go further and also allow illegal vaping products to be brought to Hong Kong by land.
“People in the trade would like to have the land-air transshipment to be allowed as well, this is very important because most of the products are made in Dongguan area. It’s more convenient and cheaper to transport that via land to Hong Kong International Airport,” he told reporters.
Another lawmaker, Jeffrey Lam, questioned why the authorities hadn’t realized sooner how logistics companies would be affected by the ban.
“When you drew up this piece of legislation, you should have taken all these into account,” he said. “Why did you not think about this long ago? You shouldn’t be talking about this only at this moment,” he said.
A bill amending the law to allow the sea-to-air shipments is expected to be tabled to Legco early next year.
November 28, 2022
HK Health Minister Open to Generational Tobacco Ban

Photo: Dmitry Rukhlenko
Hong Kong Health Minister Lo Chung-mau confirmed that banning tobacco sales for future generations will be on the table as a tool to further reduce youth smoking, according to the South China Morning Post.
Earlier news reports suggested authorities were considering a lifetime ban on anyone born in or after 2009 buying smoking products.
With a smoking prevalence of 9.5 percent in 2021, Hong Kong already has one of the world’s lowest smoking rates, but health authorities are keen to bring it down further still.
Lo said the government would look at the experience of other places in stopping young people from taking up the habit and move toward a “smoke-free Hong Kong.” New Zealand plans to phase out smoking through a generational tobacco ban and Malaysia is pondering similar measures.
Henry Tong Sau-chai, chairman of Hong Kong’s Council on Smoking and Health also suggested doubling the tobacco tax to encourage users to quit. This would mean a pack of cigarettes currently priced at HKD60 would rise to around HKD100.
Lo on Tuesday also said the government had also been pushing towards raising the tobacco tax, and tightening regulations on tobacco product advertisements.
Stepping up tobacco control was stipulated in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s maiden policy address last month. He set a target to further reduce the smoking rate to 7.8 percent by 2025, and a public consultation will be launched next year on its steps.
Last year, the legislature also passed amendments to prohibit the import, promotion, manufacture, sale or the possession of alternative smoking products, including e-cigarettes, herbal cigarettes, or heated tobacco products.
November 10, 2022
Hong Kong Considers Generational Cigarette Ban

Photo: efired
Hong Kong residents who were born in 2009 or after should be banned from buying cigarettes by 2027, the Council on Smoking and Health proposed on Nov. 3, reports the South China Morning Post
The city’s smoking population dropped to 9.5 percent last year—hitting single digits for the first time since tracking began—but Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to lower the rate to 7.8 percent in three years.
Other measures proposed include doubling the current tobacco tax by 2023-2024, which means a pack of cigarettes currently priced at HKD60 ($7.64) would rise to around HKD100. The council said the tax should be further raised in the following two years, so a pack of cigarettes would cost HKD200 by 2025-2026.
The council also recommended expanding the city’s nonsmoking areas to cover taxi and bus stands, as well as spaces that fall within 10 meters of hospitals, schools and community facilities.
Hong Kong currently does not allow smoking on public transport, including its interchanges, in hospitals, schools, parks and indoor areas of restaurants, bars and malls.
Some lawmakers expressed concern about the proposed measures. Representing the wholesale and retail sectors, Shiu Ka-fai, said poorer smokers would not be able to afford the product following the proposed tax increases.
He also opposed the idea of “smoke-free generation” as the policy would limit freedom of choice.
The Long-term Tobacco Policy Concern Group, which represents smokers, opposed the tax hike, saying that consumers might buy illicit cigarettes instead of quitting, and that the measure would impact the city’s economic recovery.
Council Chairman Henry Tong Sau-chai also opposed a proposal to reverse Hong Kong’s ban on the re-export smoking alternatives as a means to boost the economy.
In April, Hong Kong prohibited the import, sale or manufacture smoking alternatives, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes.
The legislation also prohibits smoking products from being transshipped through Hong Kong when brought in by truck or ship for transport onwards overseas, although air transshipment cargo and transit cargo that stays on a plane or ship are exempt.
Tong worried that the reverse would create a “loophole” where alternative tobacco products would slip to the community.
November 6, 2022