The Department of Health has said Hong Kong’s smoking rate dropped to a record low of 8.5 per cent, but it fell short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended target. A man smokes in Hong Kong on October 20, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “Hong Kong’s smoking rate has continued to decline from 23.3 per cent in the early 1980s to 8.5 per cent in 2025, hitting a record low,” the Department of Health said in a statement on Wednesday.
The smoking rate was 9.1 per cent in 2023. Citing a Census and Statistics Department survey conducted from July to October last year, the department said around 540,000 Hong Kong residents had a daily habit of smoking conventional cigarettes.
“The decline of Hong Kong’s smoking rate to a record low is the result of years of concerted efforts by the public and various sectors of the community, making Hong Kong an international role model for successful tobacco control,” the head of the Department of Health’s Tobacco & Alcohol Control Office, Manny Lam, was quoted as saying in the statement.
However, Lam acknowledged the figure fell short of the city’s goal of lowering the smoking rate to 7.8 per cent – a figure recommended by the WHO. From left: Kelvin Wang, professor at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Nursing; Manny Lam, head of the Department of Health’s Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office; and Henry Tong, chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, attend a press conference on May 27, 2026. Photo: GovHK. He attributed the shortfall to Hong Kong’s already low baseline smoking rate. He said that although the smoking rate fell short, it still amounted to a 23.4 per cent decrease from the smoking rate of 11.1 per cent in 2010.
With Hong Kong’s smoking rate already low, “it was difficult to lower it by 30 per cent,” Lam said at a Wednesday press conference, referring to another WHO benchmark .
He also warned of the high costs of smoking, citing studies showing that Hong Kong suffered an economic loss of HK$8 billion annually due to smoking-related health conditions.
Quitting drive
The Department of Health also announced that as part of the “Quit in June” campaign, it would distribute free nicotine patches at community pharmacies, department clinics, smoking cessation clinics, and District Health Centres, as well as non-invasive “ear point” acupuncture patches at designated Chinese medicine clinics. A smoker in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A new AI service, “Chat to Quit”, developed with the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) School of Nursing, is also available for personalised and interactive counselling, the department said.
Kelvin Wang, professor at HKU’s School of Nursing, said at the press conference that people could sign up and speak to the AI bot on WhatsApp, and those who had quit smoking after half a year would be invited to take carbon monoxide and cotinine tests.
Hong Kong banned the public possession of vapes and heated cigarettes on April 30. As of May 23, authorities have issued 39 fixed penalty tickets under the new restriction.