Press Releases
Expansion of statutory no smoking areas proposed
The Government has proposed a package of legislative amendments to the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance with a view to further strengthening the tobacco control framework in Hong Kong.
The proposals, published today (June 21) for a three-month public consultation, also aim at protecting members of the public against passive smoking in public indoor premises.
Launching the consultation document at a press conference, Deputy Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mr Thomas Yiu, emphasized that smoking was the single largest preventable cause of death.
"Medical research and studies have shown unequivocally that smoking leads to various diseases such as lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema and ischaemic heart disease," he said, adding that smoking claims about 5,500 lives every year.
"In terms of monetary loss, the estimated cost of medical treatment in the public sector of diseases directly attributable to smoking amounted to $797 million in 1999, as compared to $635 million in 1996."
Mr Yiu said passive smoking, or commonly known as secondhand smoking, also posed great risk to the health of the public as prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke could cause many serious illnesses, including a wide variety of adverse health impacts on children. Citing statistics from the World Health Organization, he said that around 700 million, or almost half of the world's children, were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.
Medical studies also reveal that the concentration of smoking-related carcinogen in the urine of people who are consistently exposed to secondhand smoke, was found to be three times higher than normal persons. And a survey conducted by the Harvard consultants in 1999 estimated that $157 million was spent on medical consultation arising from exposure to passive smoking.
"It has been Government's established policy to seek, through a step-by-step approach, to discourage smoking, contain the proliferation of tobacco use and protect the public from passive smoking to the maximum extent possible," Mr Yiu stressed.
The Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, first enacted in 1982, has been subject to constant review and the latest amendment exercise took place in 1997.
"In the light of the operating experience of the Ordinance and the public aspiration for more stringent control over the use and promotion of tobacco products, we consider the present time opportune for reviewing and amending the Ordinance," Mr Yiu said. "We hope through this legislative amendment exercise, we can help nurture a smoke-free culture in all public indoor premises in Hong Kong."
Under the proposed amendments, the statutory smoking ban will be extended to cover the following premises:
� all restaurants, regardless of their size and seating capacity, with a grace period of six to 12 months prior to implementation;
� all bars and karaokes, with a longer grace period if demonstrated to be necessary;
� both indoor and outdoor areas of all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and in the indoor premises of universities and tertiary institutions; and
� all indoor workplaces, apart from those licensed premises such as bathhouses, nightclubs and mahjong places where enforcement action would be left to a subsequent stage; a workplace will be defined as any place where employees work, such as offices, shops and factories, but does not include domestic premises where the only employees are domestic servants, or places where only self-employed people work.
Mr Yiu admitted that there were loopholes in the existing legislation that were being exploited for the purpose of promoting particular brands of tobacco products. To further restrict the advertisement of tobacco products in the public, he said the Government proposed to adopt the following measures:
� revoke the current exemption on the display of tobacco advertisement at licensed hawker stalls and retail outlets employing not more than two employees;
� prescribe the size of the price board and price marker to not larger than 1,500 square centimeters and 50 square centimeters respectively, and prescribe the font size of words printed on them so that while price boards and price markers can continue to serve as indication of prices, their potential use as advertisement for tobacco products is minimized;
� prohibit the sale of a tobacco product in association with any merchandise, regardless it is charged or not;
� prohibit the brand name of any tobacco product, and any words in association with "tobacco", to be used in the promotion of any sponsored event, irrespective of whether it is used in association with a non-tobacco product; and
� allow health warnings to contain pictorial and graphic contents, in accordance with the format prescribed by the Secretary for Health and Welfare by order in the Gazette in future.
The Tobacco Control Office (TCO) set up in February this year will be delegated with proper authority to facilitate their discharge of enforcement duties effectively. They will be empowered to conduct the necessary investigation, collect evidence and initiate prosecution action or refer the case to the Department of Justice for court action depending on the circumstances of the case.
If deemed necessary, TCO officers could also be authorized by the Secretary for Health and Welfare to mount ad hoc enforcement operation in selected malls or restaurants, with the support of the Police and the management of the premises concerned.
Managers of statutory no smoking areas such as restaurants, shopping malls, will continue to be empowered to enforce the law as at present and similar power will be conferred upon principals of the schools and managers of offices, shops and factories.
Mr Yiu added that as some industries might be affected by the proposed legislative amendments, the Government had engaged a consultant to conduct a regulatory impact assessment to assess the economic impact of the proposals on the affected sectors. The study will take about three months to complete.
Copies of the consultation document is available from the Public Enquiry Service Centres of the District Offices, the Health InfoWorld in the Hospital Authority Building, the Patient Resource Centres in public hospitals, and the General Out-Patient Clinics of the Department of Health. It can also be accessed via the Health and Welfare Bureau (HWB) website: http://www.info.gov.hk/hwb/.
Written comments should be sent before September 15, 2001, to the Tobacco Control Consultation Taskforce at HWB, 19th floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Hong Kong; by fax to 2840 0467; or by e-mail to tcct@hwb.gov.hk.
End/Thursday, June 21, 2001
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