Concerns have been raised over the increasing number of tobacco-friendly pubs and restaurants being opened at the otherwise smoke-free Hong Kong International Airport.
Health officials said they were looking into the matter after receiving a complaint. When the airport opened in 1998, Katie O'Connor's - located at the northern end of the arrival hall - was the only pub in the airport where smokers could light up.
Since then, a number of pubs and airline lounges have been renovated or opened to cater for smokers. Two Cathay Pacific lounges - The Wing and The Pier - have areas designated for smokers.
The smoking area in the former was added in 1999, while the latter opened in 2001 with a room for smoking.
Two other catering outlets in the passenger terminal's East Hall extension - Champions Bar and Wildfire - opened last year and allow patrons to smoke.
Anthony Hedley, director of the University of Hong Kong's tobacco control research and policy unit, said approval for the new smoker-friendly pubs from the statutory Airport Authority contradicted government plans to ban smoking in all restaurants and pubs.