If better health is the goal, banning vaping products and not cigarettes is illogical

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced in last week’s policy address the government’s intention to ban the use of e-cigarettes and related vaping products (“Hong Kong to impose full ban on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products”, October 9). She argued that the interests of children must be the priority over the interests of those who use e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking.

This sounds well-intentioned. While it is widely accepted that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than cigarettes, there is some evidence that such products may not be entirely harmless.

Firstly, if the government has identified a complete ban on e-cigarettes as the only way to prevent them falling into the hands of those under 18, then it should logically also completely ban cigarettes, as well as alcohol. It has not proposed to do this. Instead, it sensibly regulates the sale of cigarettes and alcohol to those under 18.