Twenty-two-year-old Hongkonger Elio* started smoking at the age of 16, when he was studying abroad in New Zealand.

But what started as a way to kill time soon became a daily habit to relieve the stress of an uncertain future.

Despite suffering from a collapsed lung in 2020, he resumed smoking and drinking a few months after recovery, later switching to e-cigarettes amid rising tobacco taxes.

After the 2022 ban on the sale of vapes, he restricted his habit to one capsule every three days – equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of nicotine content – but continued to purchase pods online to sustain his supply.

He vapes only in private to avoid enforcement officers.

“If I haven’t vaped in a while, I feel really down and lethargic,” he said.