The Hong Kong government is proud of its tobacco control efforts. The rate of smoking among the adult population is now below 20 percent. Officials believe they can get the number down to below 10 percent in the years ahead.

This generally positive trend has been disrupted by new technology. Some time ago, the tobacco industry saw its business starting to decline, especially in the developed world. It started to research products that would be less harmful to users, or annoying to others.