Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 gazetted today
The Government published the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the Gazette today (April 25) to make amendments to the existing legislation for the implementation of the new phase of tobacco control measures. The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council (LegCo) for first and second readings on April 30.
The Health Bureau (HHB) announced the overall tobacco control strategy in June last year, setting out the directions under the strategy and short, medium and long-term measures to reduce the social hazards posed by smoking products and safeguard public health. These measures are formulated around four directions under the tobacco control strategy, namely, Regulate Supply, Suppress Demand: reducing the demand for and supply of smoking products; Ban Promotion, Reduce Attractiveness: minimising the attractiveness of smoking products; Expand No Smoking Areas, Mitigate Harm: protecting the public from the hazard of second-hand smoke; and Enhance education, Support Cessation: strengthening the provision of smoking cessation services, with a view to taking forward the tobacco control process in a multipronged and progressive approach. Among the 10 short-term tobacco control measures announced, eight of them require legislative amendments.
The Bill seeks to amend Ordinances including the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371), the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109) and the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 600) to provide a legal basis for the implementation of the eight short-term measures as follows:
(1) Implement a duty stamp system for cigarettes
Require importers/local manufacturers to ensure that each package of duty-paid cigarettes is affixed with a duty stamp when put onthe market for sale
Ban the sale or supply of cigarettes whosepackages are not affixed with a duty stamp
Require that cigarettes sold at a price lower than the tobacco duty be proved to be duty-paid
Plan to roll out a pilot scheme in the third quarter of 2025
The official launch date will be separately specified. The transitional phase is planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the full implementation is targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
(2) Increase penalties for duty-not-paid tobacco
Raise the maximum penalty for relevant offences from a $1 million fine and two-year imprisonment to a $2 million fine and seven-year imprisonment
List the relevant offences under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455) to enable the Customs and Excise Department to freeze assets associated with illicit tobacco activities
Increase the penalty for offences of failing to declare to Customs Officers compoundable under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance from $2,000 to $5,000
Plan to take immediate effect upon gazettal of the amended Ordinance
(3) Prohibit the possession of alternative smoking products (ASPs)
Ban the possession of ASP substances (i.e. capsules, heat sticks and herbal cigarettes) in public places
Smoking or using ASP in public places will be considered possession and acontravention of the requirement
Introduce a fixed penalty of $3,000 for incompliant cases involving possession of small quantities of ASP substances for non-commercial purposes
Plan to take effect on April 30, 2026
(4) Implement plain packaging requirement
Require that the packaging of conventional smoking products be uniformly designed, restricting or prohibiting the display of any logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on the packaging other than brand names and productnames displayed in standard colour and font style, thereby dampening promotion effects
The official launch date will be separately specified.It is targeted to take effect in tandem with the duty stamp system in the second quarter of 2027
(5) Prohibit smoking while queuing
1. Prohibit smoking while queuing for public transport
Prohibit doing a smoking act while queuing in a lineof two or more persons to board a public transport carrier (such as queuing for buses, minibuses, taxis and trams) at a designated boarding location
Prohibit smoking while staying in the delineated area of a designated boarding location (such as areas underneath bus shelters or inside areas where queuing positionsareclearly indicated at ground level)
2. Prohibit smoking while queuing to enter specified places
Specified places include areas with high pedestrian flow, where queues may easily form, such as hospitals, designated clinics or health centres, public pleasure grounds, swimming pools and stadiums.
Prohibit smoking while queuing in a lineof two or more persons to enter specified places, or queuing within the specified places.
3. Any person who contravenes the ban is liable to a fixed penalty, and the penalty level is on par with illegal smoking in a statutory no-smoking area (NSA)
Plan to take effect on January 1, 2026
(6) Extend statutory NSAs
Expand statutory NSAs to public areas that lie within 3 metres from entrances/exits exclusively used for the specified premises (i.e. child care centres, residential care homes, schools, hospitals and designated clinics or health centres)
Empower the Secretary for Health to designate a large area as NSAs with specifications and exemptions having regard to circumstances in districts and actual needs.
Raise the fixed penalty level for smoking offences to $3,000
Plan to take effect on January 1, 2026
(7) Prohibit the provision of smoking products to persons aged below 18
Cases involving the provision of small quantities of conventional smoking products will be liable to a fixed penalty of $3,000, while cases exceeding the specified quantities will be liable to a maximum fine of $25,000
Provision of ASPs will be liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $50,000 and six months'imprisonment.
Plan to take effect on January 1, 2026
(8) Ban flavoured conventional smoking products
Prohibit the sale of conventional smoking products that contain specified additives to counteract the intention of tobacco companies to use flavourings to disguise the toxicity of conventional smoking products and attract young people to smoke
Ban conventional smoking products containing specified additives other than menthol in the first stage
Introduce a Certification regime, requiring that suppliers needs to obtain a "certificate of compliance"issued by the Director of Health for distributing conventional smoking products.
Maximum penalty of relevant offences will be a fine of $50,000 and sixmonths'imprisonment
The official launch date will be separately specified. It is targeted to officially commence after the full implementation of the duty stamp system (i.e. around the second quarter of 2027)
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", are ongoing and do not involve legislative amendments.
A spokesman for the HHB said, "The Government is committed to further reducing Hong Kong's smoking prevalence and mitigating the impact of second-hand smoke on the public through various measures in a progressive manner, thereby safeguarding public health. To further alleviate the threat posed by tobacco to public health, the Government needs to put in place more proactive measures to curb tobacco use and minimise its harmful effects on society. After factors such as the effectiveness, practicability and public receptiveness of these measures were weighed, the HHB put forward these measures last year and has further refined the details of the proposed legislative amendments after considering the views of various stakeholders in the community."
According to figures of the Census and Statistics Department, the proportion of persons aged 15 and above with a daily smoking habit of conventional cigarettes in Hong Kong was 9.1 per cent in 2023, meaning there are still about 580 000 people in Hong Kong who are daily smokers of conventional cigarettes.
A spokesman for the HHB said, "The various smoking-induced diseases among smokers will pose a heavy burden on the healthcare system and society as a whole. A local study revealed that the economic loss resulting from tobacco-induced health problems in 2021 was estimated to be about $8.2 billion per year in Hong Kong. The Government will fully work with the LegCo to scrutinise the Bill, with a view to seeking the LegCo's support and passage of the Bill, thereby building a legal framework to curb smoking hazards and stepping towards a 'tobacco-free Hong Kong' through concerted efforts."
Enrolled Nurse (General) Training Programme for Welfare Sector 2026-27 invites applications
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced that the full-time Enrolled Nurse (General) Training Programme for the Welfare Sector 2026-27 is inviting applications starting today (January 12). The programme, which will last for two years, with a total of 427 places, aims to train students to become enrolled nurses to alleviate the shortage of nurses in the welfare sector and enhance the quality of care services.
In response to the keen demand for nurses in the welfare sector, the SWD has commissioned the Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Saint Francis University and the Tung Wah College to provide the Enrolled Nurse (General) Training Programme for the Welfare Sector for five consecutive years starting from the 2023-24 academic year.
An SWD spokesman said, "Applicants for the programme must be permanent Hong Kong residents with right of abode in Hong Kong and have attained the age of 18 by the time the training programme commences. They must also have attained Level2 or above in five subjects, including Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and any two other subjects in Categories A (Note) and B, in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination; or an equivalent qualification. Applicants are also required to take note of other entry requirements as specified by respective training institutes."
The spokesman added, "To encourage young people and frontline staff currently serving the welfare sector to upgrade their professional skills, priority will be accorded to applicants who have successfully completed the two-year Diploma Programme and obtained the diploma under the Navigation Scheme for Young Persons in Care Services launched in 2015 (or under the First-hire-then-train Pilot Scheme from 2013 to 2016) by the SWD; or those who are currently working full-time in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or private organisations providing elderly, rehabilitation, family and child care, youth or correctional services. Individuals who aspire to pursue a career as enrolled nurses in the welfare sector are also welcome."
Tuition fees will be reimbursed to trainees in full on the condition that they have successfully completed the training programme and qualified to register as enrolled nurses within two years. Trainees will be required to sign an undertaking to work as an Enrolled Nurse (General) in NGOs or private organisations recognised by the SWD for providing elderly, rehabilitation, family and child care, or correctional services for a continuous period of no less than three years after completion of the training.
Information seminars on the training programme will be held by the three institutes starting from January. Details of the information seminars are set out in the table below:
Training institute |
Date and time of information seminar |
Website |
Enquiry number |
Hong Kong Metropolitan University |
2pm,
January 27 |
Programme content (Chinese only)
www.hkmu.edu.hk/nhs/tc/programmes-courses/nursing-and-health-studies/sub-degree-programmes/hdngf1_hdngosf1/
Application
admissions.hkmu.edu.hk/ug/online-application |
3970 2928 /
3970 2957 |
Saint Francis University |
3pm, February 6 |
Programme content
www.sfu.edu.hk/en/programmes/sub-degree-programmes/higher-diploma-in-enrolled-nursing-general-hden-swd/introduction/index.html
Application
onlineapplication.sfu.edu.hk/oa/admission/hdenswdForm |
3702 4388 |
Tung Wah College |
3.30pm, January 28 |
Programme content
www.twc.edu.hk/en/Programmes/hdn_swd
Application
www.twc.edu.hk/admission/ |
3190 6672 |
Applications will be closed at 5pm on March 2. For enquiries, please call the enquiry numbers of the training institutes.
Note: "Attained" in Citizenship and Social Development will be accepted as Level 2.
Source: AI-found images
