Hong Kong’s Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau has received the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day Award in recognition of the special administrative region's achievements in tobacco control, according to the Health Bureau.

The award marks yet another WHO commendation for the SAR in the field of tobacco control, following the World No Tobacco Day Director-General's Special Recognition Award presented to then secretary for food and health York Chow Yat-ngok in 2011, and the World No Tobacco Day Award to the Department of Health in 2019, the bureau said in a statement on Tuesday night.

The government has all along adopted a multipronged approach, encompassing legislation, taxation, publicity, education, enforcement and provision of smoking cessation services, to reduce the harmful effects caused by smoking products to the public, said a spokesperson for the bureau.

Measures that have taken effect include strengthening the legal framework for combating illicit cigarettes, expanding the statutory no-smoking areas, further imposing a comprehensive ban on the possession of alternative smoking products in public places, the spokesperson added.

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The health secretary acknowledged “invaluable advice” from various stakeholders, particularly the Legislative Council, in the process of formulating and implementing tobacco control measures to help refine the measures and make them more effective and responsive to the needs of society.

“The WHO's recognition is a tremendous encouragement to us. The steady advancement of our tobacco control work would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of all sectors of the community over the years,” said Lo.

Citing preliminary data from the Census and Statistics Department, the bureau said smoking prevalence among the local population aged 15 and above dropped from 23 percent in the 1980s to 8.5 percent in 2025, hitting a record low, with the number of daily smokers decreasing by about 16 percent compared with 2019, representing a reduction of nearly 100,000 smokers.

Over the same period, the average number of daily consumption of cigarettes by smokers dropped by about 14 percent, in a nearly 30 percent decrease in the overall consumption of cigarettes, the data showed.

“Today's achievements in tobacco control are the culmination of the tireless efforts of generations of people from all sectors of society over the past four decades,” said the health chief.

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The WHO designated May 31 as World No Tobacco Day annually to raise public awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and second-hand smoke, and to discourage the use of tobacco products in any form. Every year, it selects individuals or organizations from members of each of the six WHO regions that have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in tobacco control for the award.