The Health Bureau said that rather than banning waterpipe tobacco, the Government has proposed to prohibit flavours in conventional smoking products, including waterpipe tobacco.

It made the clarification following a local media report today which claimed that the Government is considering a ban on waterpipe tobacco, and that the measure will dampen the desire of tourists from the Middle East to visit Hong Kong.

In addition to expressing regret over the inaccurate information which is misleading to citizens and tourists, the bureau pointed out that in June last year, it did put forward a proposal to prohibit flavours in conventional smoking products, including waterpipe tobacco, but did not propose to ban all kinds of waterpipe tobacco.

Separately, the bureau explained that the ban on adding flavours in waterpipe tobacco will have limited impact on the experience of Muslim tourists visiting Hong Kong.

A waterpipe is a smoking device originating from regions including the Middle East, and is traditionally used without added flavour, the bureau elaborated, noting that while Islam is widely followed in the Middle East and alcohol consumption or bar patronage is not prevalent, venues offering outdoor waterpipes in Hong Kong are mostly bars.

Furthermore, the Health Bureau remarked that in other regions, eg Singapore where the import and sale of all waterpipes is banned, the number of inbound tourists from the Middle East before and after the ban remained comparable.