The Government published the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the Gazette today to make amendments to the existing legislation for the implementation of a new phase of tobacco control measures.
The Health Bureau outlined an overall tobacco control strategy in June last year, with a view to reducing the social hazards posed by smoking products and safeguarding public health. Among the 10 short-term tobacco control measures announced, eight of them require law amendments:
(1) implementation of a duty stamp system for cigarettes
(2) increased penalties for duty-not-paid tobacco
(3) prohibition of the possession of alternative smoking products
(4) implementation of a plain packaging requirement
(5) prohibition of smoking while queuing
(6) extension of statutory no-smoking areas
(7) prohibition of the provision of smoking products to people aged below 18
(8) banning flavoured conventional smoking products.
Meanwhile, the other two short-term measures, namely “continuously reviewing the effectiveness of increasing tobacco duty and the pace of future adjustments” and “strengthening smoking cessation services as well as publicity and education”, do not involve legislative amendments.
The Health Bureau stressed that the Government needs to put in place more proactive measures to curb tobacco use and minimise its harmful effects on society in order to further alleviate the threat posed by tobacco to public health. Having taken in account factors such as effectiveness, practicability and public receptiveness, the bureau put forward these measures last year and further refined the details of the proposed legislative amendments after considering stakeholders’ views.
The Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on April 30.
