From 30 April, Hong Kong will ban vaping and using heated tobacco products in any public place. People will also be banned from smoking or carrying a device that is switched on and ready to use in public.
The changes also make it an offence to possess specified alternative smoking product items in public, including e-liquid, capsules, heat sticks and herbal cigarettes. Enforcement may treat someone as possessing these items if the person smokes or carries an activated device.
For small non-commercial quantities, officers can issue a HK$3,000 fixed penalty, and a court fine can reach HK$10,000. Larger quantities are treated as an aggravating factor and may lead to prosecution, with penalties up to HK$50,000 and up to six months’ imprisonment.
These measures sit alongside existing prohibitions on importing, manufacturing, selling, promoting or possessing alternative smoking products for commercial purposes. Separate rules also continue in statutory no-smoking areas, where using or carrying an activated device is prohibited and a HK$3,000 fixed penalty applies.
The government also notes that alternative smoking products containing nicotine are classified as Part 1 poisons, and illegal possession is an offence. Travellers should be aware that importing alternative smoking products is prohibited via incoming passengers, parcels or cargo, with limited transit-related exemptions.
Header Image Credit: Juan José Napurà Guevara (Canva)