Flavoured tobacco ban won't put off visitors: minister
Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau on Sunday said there is no reason to believe that people who use flavoured cigarettes legally at home will be put off visiting Hong Kong by a proposed ban on the products. The move is among 10 new measures put forward this week to reduce the number of smokers in the SAR, with others including a blanket ban on e-cigarettes and making it illegal for people to light up if they're in a queue.    Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme, Lo said he believes visitors won't be dissuaded, noting that tourists still visit Singapore despite its stricter anti-smoking measures.  "People come to Hong Kong not to smoke; they come to Hong Kong for the business opportunities, for our food, for all the tourist attractions. And they love to have a refreshing, lively, healthy city, rather than a city full of smoke and all those cigarette butts on the floor. So I would categorically say that this is not an issue," he said.  The health minister also played down concerns raised by newspaper vendors that their businesses would suffer after the ban on flavoured tobacco, which makes up about half of their cigarette sales.  "For those newspaper vendors, I understand that this is part of their business, but they have other areas of their business. If some of these people are talking about the illicit cigarettes, I guess these are illegal activities and these vendors should not be performing such business."  On outlawing smoking while in a queue, Lo said the concept of queuing is easy to understand since most Hongkongers have been taught how to line up since kindergarten. He added that the definition of a queue will be made clearer during the law-making process.  The health chief also said it's unprecedented that the government raised the tobacco tax for two consecutive years, adding that the authorities will explore whether there is room for a further increase next year.