Leaving us fuming

Causeway Bay has to be the most unhealthy place in Hong Kong. Come out of an MTR station, or step out of a taxi or bus, and the first thing you notice are the clouds of cigarette smoke.

It's not Hong Kong people who are doing all the smoking; education campaigns have taught us it's bad for our health and of those around us. The foul-smelling fumes are mainly coming from those main- land tourists our government is so eager to attract.

They are arriving in ever-growing droves and the laws of averages say the more there are, the thicker will be the fug. Our smoking rate is at its lowest since records began- now down to 11 per cent, one of the lowest rates among developed economies. On the mainland, though, six in 10 people smoke. We don't allow smoking in indoor public places, but society hasn't yet got to the point of banning it outdoors.

Hong Kong's worst roadside pollution levels are often in Causeway Bay. The Environmental Protection Department worries about vehicle exhaust emissions, but it's time it also started measuring those that come from cigarette-stuffed mouths. Pushing up cigarette prices won't do a lot as word of our high taxes on tobacco products has got out and tourists are mostly bringing their own in.

Until we have become even more enlightened about lighting up, the best idea is for the government to redouble its anti-smoking campaign, festooning public places with gory pictures of diseased lungs.