Hong Kong officials have expressed their intention of banning e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn products from the country through a newly proposed legislation that would make distribution illegal. According to local media reports, a draft law has now been submitted to the country's legislative council for its first reading this month. Under the proposed law, importation, distribution, and promotion of such devices could result in possible jail time and a fine of up to HK$5,000, or around US$700.
It is estimated that there are currently over 35 million people around the world that use alternative-smoking products, such as e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn pens. Most of these people have shifted to these alternatives as a way to stop smoking normal cigarettes. These devices have been proven to be significantly less harmful than cigarettes. However, experts still aren't certain about its long-term effects on the human body.
Health experts generally have reached a consensus on the matter, but governments around the world are still divided on the issue. Around 39 countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, have outlawed alternative-smoking products. Hong Kong likely wants to join those countries as indicated in its proposed blanket ban on alternative-smoking products. A majority of the country's residents have expressed their views on the controversial new law, with some mentioning that it would only drive people back to smoking real cigarettes. The ban could also drive the entire industry underground if it is approved.
China is currently one of the largest smoking countries in the world, with over 50 percent of adult males still smoking regularly. Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in the country. Traditional e-cigarettes, which use lithium batteries to atomize a liquid solution, are reportedly 95 percent safer than burning tobacco. Heat-not-burn products, such as the Iqos currently being produced by Philip Morris, uses heat instead of fire to vaporize tobacco. This product is claimed by its manufacturers to be 90 percent less harmful than normal cigarettes as it produces fewer carcinogens.
China is slowly becoming one of the biggest markets for e-cigarette and heat-not-burn products, although it has yet to catch up to the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the entire industry is estimated to be worth more than US$5.1 billion as of last year.
According to Philip Morris Hong Kong's general manager, Brett Cooper, the proposed law does not differentiate between the two products and the government needs to consider different methods to regulate them. Some countries, such as Japan, have banned e-cigarettes, but have allowed the use of heat-not-burn products. Cooper points out that over 3 million people use their product in Japan.
