Hong Kong's smoking prevalence falls to 9.5 pct

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's smoking prevalence dropped from 10.2 percent in 2019 to 9.5 percent in 2021, marking the first time on record that the percentage dropped to single digits, the government announced Thursday.

The Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-cheeChan Siu-chee said there were around 581,500 conventional cigarette smokers, accounting for 9.5 percent of people aged 15 or above, based on a Census Statistics Department survey.

Each of these smokers consumed an average of 13 conventional cigarettes sticks a day, Chan said at a press conference.

There were about 17,500 daily smokers who consumed e-cigarettes, representing 0.3 percent of people aged 15 or above and a slight rise of 0.2 percent from 2019 onwards, she said.

Chan said that the government is determined to strengthen tobacco control measures to achieve the goal of reducing the city's smoking prevalence to 7.8 percent by the year 2025.

She said it will focus on two aspects of the work -- preventing people from smoking and smoking cessation.

We would need to protect our young people, women and people who may be attracted to smoking, not to be attracted. This is one very important direction, Chan said.

Another direction is for us to reduce the number of smokers. She said it was to help them quit smoking.

She stated that if our policies and measures are successful, the smoking prevalence will go down.

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The Department of Health launched a Quit in June campaign to encourage smokers to quit smoking in support of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, in support of World No Tobacco Day.

Smokers can also get a one-week trial pack of smoking cessation drugs for free at the clinics of designated non-governmental organisations.