Our Programmes

“Smoking Hazards 2.0” Health Education and Publicity Programme

Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH) is committed to promote the awareness on smoking hazards and encourage the public to live a smoke-free lifestyle. Over the years, COSH has been working together with different sectors to encourage the public to say no to smoking and its second-hand smoke.

Alternative Smoking Products - Smoking Hazards 2.0

In recent years, tobacco companies launched alternative smoking products, including Heat-not-burn (HNB) tobacco products and e-cigarettes. To downplay the health risks and normalize the smoking behavior, alternative smoking products are marketed as healthy, less harmful or harmless. In fact, an increasing number of researches found that these products could release detrimental chemicals and cause serious health consequences, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The medical profession stresses that there is no safety level for exposure to harmful and carcinogenic substances, and HNB tobacco and e-cigarettes are as harmful as conventional cigarettes. World Health Organization emphasizes that there is no safe and harmless tobacco product in the world, therefore, alternative smoking products, such as HNB tobacco products and e-cigarettes, are just the mutation and continuation of smoking hazards.

On the other hand, alternative smoking products are marketed as trendy products with novel design and over 10,000 flavours, to attract youngsters to use and hence their initiation to smoke. Use of these products in overseas surged exponentially and became an epidemic. It is alarming that over 13 million people and one-fourth of high school students use e-cigarette in US. Even though the prevalence of HNB tobacco and e-cigarette use in Hong Kong is relatively low, we should not underestimate the situation as an increasing trend is observed.

To educate the mass public, particularly young people, on hazards of alternative smoking products including heat-not-burn tobacco products and e-cigarettes, COSH is organizing “Smoking Hazards 2.0 of Alternative Smoking Products” health promotion activities from September 2019.

Roving Health Promotion Exhibitions

Roving exhibitions are held in shopping malls and communities starting from September 2019. The exhibitions clarify the misleading claims and marketing strategy of tobacco industry; introduce tobacco control policies in Hong Kong and methods to deal with the epidemic of these alternative smoking products through interactive panels and game.



Digital interactive paper drawing game are set up during the exhibitions. The public is invited to color the designated smoke-free drawing and share in social media as a pledge to say no to all forms of tobacco products, and an appeal to encourage family and friends to live a smoke-free lifestyle. Details of the roving health promotion exhibitions as shown below:

Remarks: The exhibitions are conducted in Chinese only.

Community organizations can collaborate with COSH to spread the correct information on alternative smoking products through setting up “Smoking Hazards 2.0 of Alternative Smoking Products” exhibition panel (exclude digital interactive paper drawing game) in local health promotion activities.

Apply for “Smoking Hazards 2.0 of Alternative Smoking Products” exhibition panel (In Chinese only)

Tailor-made Health Seminars on Alternative Smoking Products

The sale and marketing strategies of alternative smoking products target at youth. The health seminars are organized to primary and secondary schools to enhance students’ knowledge of alternative smoking products. The health seminars shed the light on the hazardous effects on the use of alternative smoking products, the deceptive tactics deployed by tobacco companies to market these products to the young generations, the trends of alternative smoking product use, etc. It is also suitable for social workers, parents and community organizations so that they can enhance the awareness on alternative smoking products, and perform smoke-free prevention and education to the youngsters.

More Details on the health seminar
Apply for the health seminar

Health Education Resources

A set of teaching kit (available in Chinese only) including a teaching plan, a PowerPoint, worksheets and game sheets is available for download. This set of resources is designed for educators to educate the public, especially young people, on the harms of alternative tobacco products. Educators are welcome to adopt the teaching materials to fit the needs of their target audience. Please click here to download the materials.

Support the Total Ban on Alternative Smoking Products

To nip in the bud and prevent its prevalence, Hong Kong should enact a total ban on e-cigarettes, HNB tobacco and other alternative smoking products as early as possible to safeguard individual and public health. In February 2019, Food and Health Bureau introduced the proposal into the Legislative Council to ban the import, manufacture, sale, distribution and advertisement of alternative smoking products.

COSH is organizing the “Support to enact a total ban on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products” signatory campaign to urge the Government and the Legislative Council to enact the legislation of total ban on alternative smoking products and to formulate a timeline on smoking ban to achieve a smoke-free Hong Kong. Please support the signatory campaign by signing at the website (www.smokefree.hk/support).

For more details about alternative smoking products, please visit the page of Heated Tobacco Products and electronic cigarette of COSH website.