Hong Kong’s progress in quitting tobacco is worth celebrating
The WHO has hailed the city’s tobacco control efforts, which include bringing the smoking rate down to one of the lowest among developed economies
Ideally, a campaign to persuade people to end self-harming behaviour should envisage a date when it is no longer needed. If only that were true of smoking. Then there would be no need for the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare May 31 World No Tobacco Day, more than 60 years after the US surgeon general officially declared smoking a direct cause of lung cancer. Instead, places that achieve small reductions in the smoking rate are held up as examples to the world.
The organisation has given a World No Tobacco Day award to Hong Kong Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau, recognising the city’s progress in tobacco control and in raising public awareness of the harms from smoking and second-hand smoke. It is one of six regional awards each year for outstanding achievements. Lo has noted the city’s successful efforts in regulating alternative tobacco products.
Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office head Dr Manny Lam Man-chung has said it is important to continue to pursue anti-smoking measures “because smoking not only affects public health but also the economy, with studies showing that Hong Kong suffered an economic loss of HK$8 billion [US$1 billion] a year due to [smoking-induced health problems]”.
The government is to be commended for a raft of measures including a ban on the possession of vapes and heated cigarettes in public, with a duty stamp system and plain packaging to follow by December 2027 to combat illicit cigarettes and reduce their appeal.