Hong Kong's Department of Health Wednesday called on smokers not to use electronic cigarettes as the safety, efficacy and quality of such kind of product have to be established.

A spokesman for the department said Wednesday that initial laboratory analysis on an electronic cigarette sample revealed that it contained nicotine.

The spokesman said under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, electronic cigarettes containing nicotine and marketed as tobacco cessation products were classified as pharmaceutical products requiring registration in Hong Kong.

The department raided a shop in Sham Shui Po earlier on Wednesday, resulting in the seizure of nine types of electronic cigarettes. It has also instructed the parties concerned to remove electronic cigarette advertisements and promotional materials from their websites.

The spokesman said possession or sale of an unregistered pharmaceutical product, and possession of Part I poisons without authority, were both liable on conviction to a 100,000 HK dollars (about 12,820 U.S. dollars) fine and two years' imprisonment.

He urged members of the public who have been using electronic cigarettes to stop using them immediately.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2009)