HONG KONG - Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau dismissed on Sunday suggestions that proposed tighter tobacco controls might affect Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

Answering questions from members of the media, Lo pointed out that Singapore has stricter anti-smoking measures but these have not affected the flow of visitors to the city-state.

“I would categorically say that this would not affect visitors, tourists and business people coming to Hong Kong,” Lo said. “First of all, taking the example of Singapore, Singapore has stricter measures on anti-smoking which do not really affect the tourists and visitors going to Singapore.”

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government proposed on Thursday 10 new short-term tobacco-control measures, including a ban on electronic cigarettes, flavored cigarettes and smoking while waiting in line

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government proposed on Thursday 10 new short-term tobacco-control measures, including a ban on electronic cigarettes, flavored cigarettes and smoking while waiting in line.

“People come to Hong Kong not for smoking. They come to Hong Kong for business opportunities, for our food, for all of the tourist attractions,” Lo said.

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“They love to have a refreshing, lively, healthy city, rather than a city full of smoke and cigarette butts on the floor. I would categorically say that this is not an issue,” he added.

Lo also said he understood the concerns of newspaper vendors who sell cigarettes but he added that they have “other areas of businesses”.

“Some of these people are talking about illicit cigarettes or ‘cheap whites’. I guess that these are illegal activities, and these vendors should not be performing such businesses,” Lo said.

With its proposed new measures, the HKSAR government is seeking a ban on flavored cigarettes and alternative smoking products, including e-cigarettes.

READ MORE: Lo: Smoking prevalence in HK at all-time low of about 9.1%

Hong Kong had banned the import, sale, and production of e-cigarettes as well as possessing them for commercial purposes since April 30, 2022, but keeping e-cigarettes for self-use is not included in that prohibition.

The government also plans to introduce a label to distinguish between duty-paid and duty-not-paid cigarettes and to raise penalties for untaxed cigarettes to deter smuggling.

Other proposed measures include prohibiting smoking while waiting in line in public areas, expanding nonsmoking areas, and strengthening services to help people quit smoking.