Puff, Puff, Past?: Hong Kong moving forward with ban on sale of e-cigarettes

Illustration. Photo via Vaping360.
Illustration. Photo via Vaping360.

The Hong Kong government today published its proposed legal amendments outlawing the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes, setting up the possibility that vaping could soon vanish from the SAR like a cloud of grape-flavored nicotine in a strong wind.

According to a press release announcing the amendments’ publication in the government Gazette — which takes place before a law is formally introduced in the Legislative Council — the changes will “ban the import, manufacture, sale, distribution and advertisement of alternative smoking products, including electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn products and herbal cigarettes.”

The law doesn’t outlaw the use of alternative smoking products — though it does include penalties for their use in non-smoking places — but with the supply effectively choked off, it remains unclear how vapers would continue to get their sweet, sweet (literally, in some cases) nicotine fog.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam had called for the change in a policy address last year, and Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan said in a blog post this week that the products were “tempting [young people and non-smokers] to try and even switch to traditional cigarettes.”

In today’s release, a Food and Health spokesperson echoed Chan’s line, saying “alternative smoking products open a gateway to the eventual consumption of conventional cigarettes.”

“The fact is all these new smoking products are harmful to health and produce second-hand smoke,” they were quoted as saying. “There are more and more studies concluding that these new products are harmful to health. There is also a lack of evidence that these products can help in quitting smoking.”

Vaping has become a worldwide phenomenon in recent years, with nicotine dispensers touted as less-harmful alternatives to cigarettes, and in some cases, as smoking cessation aids.

However, research is beginning to suggest that the products aren’t without their own health risks, and policy makers have expressed concern that they could indeed lead to non-smokers moving on to traditional cigarettes.

E-cigarettes could be harmful to your health in more ways than one. Last July, a commercial airliner plunged more than 6,000 meters due to a cabin pressure issue. As it turned out, the issue was caused when the pilot accidentally switched off the air conditioning, thinking he had instead turned on an air-recycling fan so he could vape in the cockpit.



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