The smoking population in Macao has plummeted by a substantial 31.4 percent in the decade since the implementation of the city’s tobacco control bill on 1 January 2012.
In a statement published yesterday, the Health Bureau said the smoking rate among SAR residents aged 15 years and over had dropped from 16.9 percent prior to the law’s implementation to 11.6 percent in 2023.
This significant drop means that Macao has achieved the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global target of slashing the tobacco consumption rate by 30 percent ahead of the scheduled 2025 deadline.
In response to the growing prevalence of new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, the Health Bureau noted that it updated the city’s tobacco control law in 2022 to prohibit the manufacturing, distribution, sale, as well as import and export of e-cigarettes. To prevent the circulation of vapes in the SAR, it also outlaws the carrying of vapes among people entering and exiting the region.
Further revisions to the tobacco control bill are currently in the works, according to the Health Bureau in a recent written response to legislator Ho Ion Sang’s query.
The department said it was looking to prohibit new tobacco products, imitation tobacco products and other tobacco items that were regaining popularity. The bureau added that it was considering regulating flavoured tobacco products, and would draw from the experience of neighbouring areas in this regard.
[See more: Maldives passes world-first generational tobacco ban]
Aside from legislation, the government has attempted to reduce the smoking population through the establishment of smoking cessation clinics in local Health Centres starting from 2006. Between January and October of this year, some 1,970 individuals had received free counselling to quit smoking.
According to the Health Bureau, the toxic substances from cigarette smoking is a major factor behind chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – an incurable lung disease that causes breathing difficulties and coughing.
Listed as the fourth leading cause of global deaths by the WHO, COPD was responsible for the deaths of some 3.5 million people in 2021 or approximately 5 percent of deaths worldwide.
Despite being incurable, the Health Bureau said that COPD can be prevented and controlled most effectively by quitting smoking. Other methods include avoiding air pollutants from sources such as second hand smoke and industrial pollution, undergoing screening and treatment, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and getting vaccinated against diseases such as influenza, pneumococcus and Covid-19.
