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Hong Kong starts enforcing smoking ban at construction sites

The Labour Department carried out spot checks on 58 sites on Friday and issued one fixed-penalty ticket, with individual fines set at HK$3,000.

Reported · Written up by our desk · China

Hong Kong began enforcing a new ban on smoking at construction sites on Friday, after legal amendments took effect. The move follows the deadly Nov. 2025 fire at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po, which killed 168 people and was suspected to have been linked to workers smoking during renovations, according to SCMP Economy.

Under the rules, individuals caught smoking at a construction site face a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 (US$380) for breaches, while contractors can be fined up to HK$400,000 if they fail to keep sites smoke-free. SCMP Economy also reported that the Labour Department conducted spot checks on 58 construction sites on Friday and issued one fixed-penalty ticket.

At a designated rehousing estate project in Ma Tau Kok, contractor Hip Hing Construction posted notices at the site entrance and signs at a helmet collection point, and it provided lockers for workers to deposit cigarettes and lighters. The contractor also held smoking-cessation talks and offered a HK$50 supermarket voucher to workers who remained smoke-free for seven days, SCMP Economy reported.

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