Fewer smokers in Hong Kong but among those who light up, more are turning to e-cigarettes, survey reveals
Latest government figures show smokers above the age of 15 using e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products rose almost six-fold in two years
Even as the population of regular smokers in Hong Kong has declined over the years to about 10 per cent, the use of electronic smoking devices among them is on an alarming upwards trend, according to latest government figures.
Those above the age of 15 using e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products rose almost sixfold in two years, from below 1,000 in 2015 to 5,700 last year, the Census and Statistics Department found when it interviewed 10,000 households in the second half of last year.
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When the Food and Health Bureau commissioned a survey of primary and secondary schools between November 2016 and last June, it found 29,380 teens had tried e-cigarettes before, with 2,770 still using them. Among Primary 4 to 6 pupils, 2,340 had tried e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, before.
While the number of teens and children who had ever tried e-cigarettes declined slightly from the 2014/15 survey, the head of the Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Office said the government was “very concerned” about the overall growth in e-cigarette use.
“We plan to strengthen the monitoring and regulation of these electronic smoking devices, ” Dr Jeff Lee Pui-man said, adding that the department would also step up public education on the ills of the activity.