Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ7: Action plans to reduce alcohol-related harm
Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(May 9):
Question:
According to the statistics of the Department of Health (DH), the drinking
prevalence among the adult population in Hong Kong rose from 30.9% in 2005 to
34.9% in 2010, and the per capita alcohol consumption rose from 2.57 litres in
2004 to 2.64 litres in 2010. The Hong Kong Academy of Medicine has pointed out
that there are quite a number of misconceptions about drinking in the community,
and it has suggested the Government to make reference to the World Health
Organization's strategies to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol, in
particular those on limiting alcohol supply, regulating the marketing and event
sponsorship in respect of alcohol beverages, as well as changing the pricing of
and the taxation system for alcohol, etc. In this connection, will the
Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the reasons for the increase in both the public's drinking
prevalence and their alcohol consumption in recent years; whether it will
conduct regular surveys on the public's understanding of the impact on health
caused by alcohol, the reasons for members of the public drinking alcohol and
their habits in drinking, alcohol abuse as well as demands for alcohol
detoxification services;
(b) given that the sale of alcohol beverages to persons aged below 18 is
prohibited under the law but it was pointed out in the 2008 issue of
Non-communicable Diseases Watch published by DH that according to the Population
Health Survey 2003-2004, 14.5% of youth aged between 15 and 17 drank alcohol
occasionally or regularly, and furthermore, it was found in the Thematic
Household Survey Report No. 45 published by the Census and Statistics Department
that 2% of the respondents aged between 15 and 17 indicated that they had a
habit of drinking alcohol, whether the authorities will assess if they need to
step up law enforcement actions; if the assessment outcome is in the
affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative,
whether any other measure is in place; and
(c) given that it was pointed out in the Non-Communicable Diseases Watch
mentioned in (b) that 10.5% of the respondents had "hazardous" drinking in 2007,
and the proportion of having "hazardous" drinking among men aged between 25 and
34 was as high as 27.2%, whether any government department or non-governmental
organisation provides services to educate the public about the harmful effects
of excessive alcoholic consumption as well as provides alcohol detoxification
services at present; if so, of the details, together with the annual expenditure
of the Government in this respect; whether the authorities will assess if they
need to step up measures to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol; if the
assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment
outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that alcohol consumption is
associated with major non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular
disease and diabetes. It has also reaffirmed that measures should be
strengthened in reducing alcohol-related harm in the prevention and control of
non-communicable diseases. The HKSAR Government maintains close liaison with the
WHO and makes exchanges from time to time with experts around the world in
formulating action plans that suit local circumstances to reduce alcohol-related
harm.
In 2008, the HKSAR Government set up the Steering Committee on Prevention and
Control of Non-communicable Diseases (the Steering Committee). Under the
Steering Committee, the Working Group on Alcohol and Health (the Working Group)
launched the Action Plan to Reduce Alcohol-related Harm in Hong Kong (the Action
Plan) in October 2011 having taken into account scientific evidence and local
circumstances. The Action Plan covers 5 priority areas, 10 recommendations and
17 specific action items. The Government and relevant non-government
organisations (NGOs) will draw reference to the Action Plan and take action to
reduce alcohol-related harm, including strengthening surveillance on the profile
of drinkers and relevant risks, promoting relevant research, empowering the
general public to make informed choices on the use of alcohol, strengthening
community awareness and actions, etc. The Steering Committee and Working Group
will continue to monitor progress and provide advice.
Our reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Public health actions should be based on the best available evidence. The
Working Group recognises that research and surveillance of alcohol consumption
can help inform evidence-based intervention, so as to steer the direction of
policy on prevention and control of alcohol-related harm. The Working Group
recommends strengthening surveillance on alcohol consumption and the profile of
local drinkers through the existing population-based health surveys. Since 2004,
the Department of Health (DH) has been conducting regular surveillance of
alcohol consumption among adults aged 18 to 64 through the Behavioural Risk
Factor Surveillance (BRFS) System. In the recent BRFS Survey conducted in 2011,
the questionnaire included more questions on alcohol drinking behaviour, such as
the type of alcoholic beverage that drinkers most often consume, the premises
where drinkers most often drink and the persons with whom drinkers most often
drink. The findings have been uploaded onto the Centre for Health Protection
website. DH will continue to review, adjust and strengthen the surveillance of
alcohol consumption as necessary.
(b) Regulation 28 of the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations (Cap. 109B)
provides that no licensee of licensed premises shall permit any person under the
age of 18 years old to drink any intoxicating liquor on any licensed premises.
The Police will, having regard to the circumstances of individual applications
for liquor licences, make suggestions to the Liquor Licensing Board (LLB) to
impose additional licensing conditions, including prohibiting admission of
persons under the age of 18 years to the licensed premises in question.
Prohibiting youths from drinking liquor on licensed premises can effectively
prevent their access to alcohol and reduce the problem of alcoholism among
youths. If malpractices are found on licensed premises, the Police may issue a
warning to the licensee or offender, take summons action or even make an arrest.
The LLB also has the right to revoke the licence or reject renewal applications.
(c) DH produces a variety of health education materials and makes use of various
forms of media, so as to educate the public and publicise alcohol-related harm,
enabling the public to make informed choices on alcohol consumption. DH's
Student Health Service disseminates messages to students on the harmful effects
of drinking, smoking and drug abuse, and teaches them refusal skills. The Family
Health Service provides information to pregnant and lactating women regarding
the impact of alcohol consumption on the health and development of foetuses and
babies. With reference to the aforementioned Action Plan, DH will produce more
health education materials targeting different demographic groups to facilitate
healthcare professionals' promotion of reducing alcohol-related harm, and to
help parents, teachers and other parties talk to children and young people
effectively about alcohol with a view to preventing underage drinking. Public
education and publicity on alcohol-related harm has been integrated into DH's
ongoing programmes.
At present, there are various institutions and organisations in Hong Kong that
provide treatment of alcohol-related problems. These include the Hospital
Authority (HA), NGOs, private hospitals and clinics. At present, the psychiatric
specialist outpatient clinics and substance abuse clinics at all HA clusters
provide alcohol abusers with multi-disciplinary assessment (including
psychiatry, clinical psychology, nursing and occupational therapy etc.) and
therapy services (including in-patient, out-patient, community support, guidance
and rehabilitation etc.) The "Stay Sober, Stay Free" Alcoholic Treatment Service
Project run by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and NGOs such as Alcoholics
Anonymous also provide services related to alcohol detoxification. We are unable
to calculate the expenditure of reducing alcohol-related harm as a stand-alone
item.
Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:26
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