Ban e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products, Hong Kong parents say in survey
- Survey of parents of kindergarten- and school-age children found three-quarters want new products outlawed
- Former smokers say e-cigarettes should not be viewed as a less harmful alternative to smoking
Three-quarters of more than 9,000 parents polled in a survey want a complete ban on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products, saying a plan to choke only their supply, sale and promotion – but allow consumption – did not go far enough.
The Committee on Home-School Co-operation and Federations of Parent-Teacher Associations, which released the survey results on Sunday, distributed questionnaires to parents of children in more than 100 kindergartens and primary and secondary schools on the issue last month.
Seventy-five per cent of the 9,083 parents – both smokers and non-smokers – called for the complete ban on electronic cigarettes as well as other new tobacco alternatives such as heat-not-burn products and herbal cigarettes.
Supporters included 56 per cent of the 1,362 smoking parents.
The findings also showed that 76 per cent of all respondents and 62 per cent of smoking parents believed a complete ban would deter teenagers from taking up smoking.
