Rethink measures against e-cigarettes for a smoke-free Hong Kong
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at
letters@scmp.com or filling in
this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification
I refer to '70% of Hongkongers under 25 have tried e-cigarettes: university poll' (
May 23 ).
While some support a complete ban on alternative smoking products (ASPs), their widespread use is crystal clear evidence that the
current ban on selling ASPs is not working.
This ban was imposed in 2022 and the tax on tobacco was increased twice, in 2023 and 2024. But between 2021 and 2023, the number of smokers only dropped by 9,200, a decline similar to previous years.
With nearly 600,000 smokers remaining, is banning ASPs truly the best way to accelerate the drop in the smoking population and achieve a smoke-free Hong Kong?
Around the world, there are more countries that regulate ASPs (more than 80) than ban them. The United Kingdom's 'swap to stop' programme and the United States Food and Drug Administration's authorisation to sell some products as 'modified risk tobacco products' are important examples of a global shift towards pragmatic, science-based solutions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Vietnam ramping up expansion of South China Sea outposts: Chinese think tank
Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the South China Sea , with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank. Advertisement Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that Vietnam had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land in the past six months on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, which are known as the Nansha Islands in China. In total, Vietnam had reclaimed over 8.5 sq km of new land on these features since October 2021, the think tank added in an English-language social media post. China and Vietnam have rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, particularly over the Spratly and Paracel islands. The reclamation focused not only on expanding the land area but also the construction of military-related facilities, such as harbour basins, wharves and runways , the think tank said in a separate post on Chinese social media. Advertisement These include an airstrip on the Spratlys' Barque Canada Reef that is expected to be about 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) long when completed. Sandbars that could accommodate runways had also been built on four other Spratly features: Pearson Reef, Tennent Reef, Ladd Reef and South Reef, the SCSPI said. South Reef is located just 50km (31 miles) north of the China-controlled Subi Reef.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Why China's leaders seek a culture that is both modern and distinctly Chinese
Renowned historian Wang Gungwu's Roads to Chinese Modernity: Civilisation and National Culture traces China's transformation from an ancient civilisation into a modern nation-state shaped by revolution, reform and global engagement. Drawing on decades of scholarship and his unique perspective as an overseas Chinese intellectual, Wang reflects in this excerpt on Deng Xiaoping's legacy and the enduring challenge facing China's leaders today: how to build a modern national culture that embraces global ideas while remaining recognisably and distinctively Chinese. The genius of Deng Xiaoping in 1978 was to see that China could not go down the road of revolution again. The word he used was 'reform'. By this, he was asking the Communist Party to recognise that the revolution had been successful in 1949; the time had come to consolidate what had been achieved by learning from the lessons and mistakes of the past. When Deng called for 'reform and opening up', there was a national sigh of relief. The idea of no more revolutions was something so welcomed by most people that it may be described as the secret of China's success in the decades that followed. What is still unclear, however, is whether the new generation of leaders are free of the idea that Chinese culture is holistic. When I talk about the quest for a new cultural identity, I am not certain whether the Chinese people have really moved away from the heritage of culture as a holistic unity. Why do I stress this? Because it is a new challenge to build a new culture that can stand by itself in the world today. Globalisation has made the world much smaller. New ideas are transmitted very rapidly. They include some of the most advanced ideas in science and technology, which all the Chinese admire and are willing to learn without any hesitation whatsoever. For many, this has demonstrated to them that globalisation has enabled the world to be one. There is a global process going on and one day, some kind of global culture that all human beings could subscribe to and believe in might be created. I am not yet sure if that is part of the popular vision among the Chinese today. There are many signs which suggest that the Chinese deeply hanker for the kind of civilisation they once had, of which they were so proud. I think that old cultural identity is truly gone. But maybe some valuable parts of it could be recovered and given new life by incorporating new ideas that are coming from elsewhere. With new mixtures or compositions, China could build something that will be distinctively, if not uniquely, Chinese.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
33-year-old King Parrot Group shuts 9 restaurants in Hong Kong
The 33-year-old King Parrot Group, a well-known name in Hong Kong's restaurant industry, shut nine eateries on Friday, owing more than 100 staff over HK$1 million (US$127,440), according to a union. The group, which ran more than 20 restaurants at its peak, informed staff of its decision to close the nine outlets with immediate effect and paid outstanding wages on the spot, according to Nerine Yip Lau-ching, general secretary of the Hotels, Food and Beverage Employees Association. 'The employer only settled their outstanding wages for May and June without mentioning their other entitlements, such as one month pay in lieu of notice, the severance payment and their holiday pay,' she said. 'Over 100 employees, with a service length ranging from months to 15 years, have been seeking help from us. We estimate that they are owed over HK$1 million in unpaid wages. We call on the affected workers to come to us for assistance.' Hong Kong has been hit with a wave of shop closures due to residents heading north to spend. Last month, 33-year-old congee restaurant chain Ocean Empire Food Shop shut down, owing more than 100 staff wages in excess of HK$15 million. The Labour Department said it was 'very concerned' about the move by King Parrot Group and called for affected employees to seek its assistance, adding they could go to the branch office of the Labour Relations Division for inquiry.
