Henry Tong told RTHK that the ban is crucial in ensuring the health of the public, particularly young people.
“There has been research showing that for young smokers who use e-cigarettes, there is a much higher chance that they become lifetime smokers,” he said.
“Because most smokers who get cancer or heart disease or strokes, I think over 95 percent of them, they were treated by the Hong Kong public health system, which adds a lot of pressure to our public health system,” Tong added.
The administration is looking to impose stiffer penalties for those who bring in more than the permitted amount of 19 sticks of undeclared cigarettes.
Offenders would be fined HK$5,000 instead of the current HK$2,000.
The measure would take effect immediately once the amendment bill is gazetted.
At the same time, those bringing in illicit cigarettes would be fined HK$2 million – double the current amount, and face a jail term that is five years more than the current seven.
Tong said he believes these proposed measures could reduce the number of illicit cigarettes.
As for the proposal to have all cigarette packages uniformly designed, he said it would discourage smokers who have quit from picking up the habit again.
“Even sometimes when they have a low intention to smoke, they were attracted to trying cigarettes because if you go to a convenience store, or go to a newspaper stand in Hong Kong, right now, in most cases, the cigarette packs are nicely arranged according to their brand name, and sometimes, even some kind of promotional wording on the pack facing the customer arranged in a nice light box.”
Tong added similar measures are being enforced in other places.
