Hong Kong to step up inspections as new smoking bans take effect on Thursday

Hong Kong authorities will ramp up inspections at bus stops and tourist spots starting on Thursday, when new rules banning smoking while queuing or near designated facilities take effect.\nWhile some residents told the Post on Wednesday that they were aware of the new measures, visitors in Tsim Sha Tsui said they were not but would comply.\nTobacco and Alcohol Control Office head Manny Lam Man-chung said that the move aimed to enforce new smoking control measures and raise public awareness.\nOfficers will issue penalty tickets to smokers who fail to observe the new rules, but will be more lenient in certain marginal cases, according to Lam.\n“If smokers are clearly standing within three metres of an entrance, we will issue penalty tickets immediately ... for those who are unaware, just passing by, or standing on the boundary of the area, we will first give them advice or a warning,” Lam told a radio show.\nHe added that the office would contact the managers of designated premises if a need arose to increase signage during future inspections.\nLam also said authorities had stepped up promotion for the public and tourists, and briefed the tourism and hotel sectors.\nUnder the new measures, smokers in Hong Kong will be banned from lighting up while queuing for public transport or entering venues such as cinemas, sports facilities and theme parks.\nAuthorities will also extend statutory no-smoking areas to within three metres of the entrances or exits of childcare centres, residential care homes, schools, hospitals and designated clinics or health centres.\n\nCurrently, it is only an offence to smoke inside such premises.\nFines for smoking-related offences are also set to be doubled to HK$3,000 (US$385.9).\nEarlier in the day, several people were seen smoking a few steps away from the entrance of Rutonjee Hospital in Wan Chai.\nAll of them kept a distance of at least three metres from the entrance.\nOne smoker, surnamed Li, said he was well aware of the new regulations, adding that he did not find it difficult to follow the new rules.\n“If I want to smoke, it is only natural to follow the rules,” he said.\nA tourist from Hunan province, surnamed Chen, said he was not aware of the new regulations, but had been mindful of the city’s tobacco control measures.\nHe added that it was not a common practice in mainland China to smoke while queuing or waiting for public transport.\n“We understand Hong Kong is strict about cigarette control. As tourists, we should respect the local culture,” the 29-year-old smoker said at the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui.\n“But when it comes to the government’s publicity efforts, they are indeed insufficient.”\nHe also noted that he had not seen any promotion of the new rules in the city.\nIn September, the government gazetted the Tobacco Control Legislation (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which has already increased maximum penalties for smuggling duty-not-paid cigarettes and will later ban flavoured conventional smoking products.\nThe Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office earlier said it had stepped up publicity efforts to raise awareness about the new rules and anti-smoking promotions.\nThe office said that dedicated efforts targeting visitors were also made at border checkpoints, major tourist attractions and bus stops.\n