Health chief hails tobacco control efforts as smoking rate falls to 8.5%

Hong Kong’s smoking rate fell to 8.5 per cent last year, missing an ambitious target of 7.8 per cent, but health authorities have hailed the success of the city’s tobacco control strategy, which led to a 30 per cent decline in overall cigarette consumption. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau told a Legislative Council meeting on Friday that the rate – the prevalence of daily cigarette smokers aged 15 and older in the population – had fallen from 9.1 per cent in 2023 to 8.5 per cent last year. ...

By Emily Hung