Doctors are calling for regulation of electronic cigarettes that do not contain nicotine, saying they can lure the young to take up the real thing.
The nicotine-free devices, through which users inhale flavoured water vapour, have been available overseas for some time and were introduced to Hong Kong last month by local company Shortcut.
The company says about 60 packs - marketed as 'Mild Cigarette' - are sold each day, and about 30 per cent of its customers are non-smokers.
'What you are blowing is just water vapour with fragrance. It will not get you addicted,' Shortcut marketing manager Alex Mok Ho-chun said.
'We are quite surprised that it has attracted non-smokers, especially the girls. But apparently they feel that it is fun.'
Electronic cigarettes containing nicotine come under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health because they are classified as medication, but those without nicotine do not need to be registered and can be sold freely.