, according to the Macao daily reports under all attend the senator cast votes, the Macao SAR passed 9 plenary meeting general "new tobacco control law" amendment, it is forbidden to manufacture, distribution, sales, import and export of electronic cigarettes and for oral or nasal absorption of tobacco products, including a ban on carrying about product entry and exit in macau.
Macau's Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs, Ouyang Yu, introduced that the "new tobacco control Law" has been implemented for more than 10 years, and the tobacco use rate in Macao continues to decline. Among the population aged 15 and above, the cigarette use rate has gradually decreased from 16.6% before the "new tobacco control law" took effect to 10.7% in 2019, a relative decrease of 35.5%. Macau has already met the world Health Organization's target of reducing tobacco use by 30% by 2025 compared to 2010.
Although some achievements have been made, Ouyang Yu believes that continuous attention and positive responses are needed in the face of new challenges in tobacco control. According to the report "Macau Youth Tobacco Use Survey 201", the rate of e-cigarette use among young people aged 13 to 15 was 4%, 1.4% higher than 2.6% in 2015, and significantly higher than the rate of cigarette use of 2.1%, indicating that e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among young people.
The Macao SAR government has banned the sale, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes since 2018, as well as the smoking of e-cigarettes in non-smoking places. However, the use of e-cigarettes by young people is on the rise, and it is necessary to strengthen control. On the other hand, tobacco products for oral or nasal use are just as harmful to health as e-cigarettes. Although Macao has banned the sale of such products in the past, the system still needs to be improved. Therefore, it is proposed to adopt the amendment to the "New Tobacco Control Law" to prohibit the manufacture, distribution, sale, import and export of e-cigarettes and tobacco products for oral or nasal use, including the prohibition of carrying such products out of Macao and into Macao, so as to implement more effective control measures over these tobacco products.
At the same time, the HKSAR Government will continue to improve the prevention and control of smoking through a multi-pronged approach such as publicity, education and promotion of smoking cessation, with a view to building a smoke-free city.