No time to waste in reducing the rate of smoking in Hong Kong
Advertisement
The government's long-awaited anti-smoking bill was introduced for a first reading in the Legislative Council on April 30. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau told lawmakers the measures would be essential to protect public health.
The bill would ban the possession and use of alternative smoking products such as e-cigarettes in public. Those who bring illicit cigarettes into the city would face tougher penalties. Some non-smoking areas would be expanded and fines imposed on those caught smoking in queues for public transport or near some building entrances.
The government had vowed to pass 10 short-term measures to push the smoking rate below the current 9.1 per cent. Time is running out to reach a goal of 7.8 per cent by this year. While controversial, the move is in the public interest and worth pushing forward. If Legco passes the bill, new laws would go into effect in several stages. Among the earliest would be a New Year's Day implementation of a measure to double fines to HK$3,000 for smoking in prohibited areas.
A similar penalty was proposed for offenders under a ban on e-cigarettes to take effect in April 2026. Flavoured tobacco sales and a duty stamp system for cigarettes would start in the second quarter of 2027.
Advertisement
Lo voiced concern that e-cigarettes and other alternatives were still accessible to young people even though their sale was already banned three years ago. Worryingly, some are found using the devices to abuse the recently banned drug, space oil.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
South Korea reverses birth rate decline with its fastest growth in 40 years
South Korea registered a record birth rate growth during the first five months of the year, a statistics agency official said on Wednesday. Advertisement The country has one of the world's longest life expectancies and lowest birth rates – a combination that presents a looming demographic challenge. Seoul has poured billions of dollars into efforts to encourage women to have more children and maintain population stability. 'The number of newborns for the January-May period stood at 106,048, a 6.9 per cent increase, the highest growth rate since such data collection began in 1981,' said Kang hyun-young from Statistics Korea. The surge follows South Korea's first annual increase in the number of births in more than a decade, driven by a rise in marriages. In 2024, the number of newborns rose by 8,300, or 3.6 per cent, to 238,300 from the previous year. Advertisement April in particular saw a spike, with year-on-year growth reaching 8.7 percent and the number of births totalling 20,717 that month.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China GLP-1 drug study suggests slim chance weight stays off after treatment
A Chinese analysis of prescription anti-obesity medications has added to evidence that people who use popular GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic to shed pounds face the prospect of 'significant' weight rebound once they stop using them – challenges similar to those presented by more traditional slimming strategies. Patients saw 'significant weight' return eight weeks after anti-obesity medications (AOMs) were stopped, which continued after 20 weeks, the team from Peking University People's Hospital wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Medicine on Tuesday. 'Weight regain is common in various weight-loss strategies and it is necessary to establish long-term anti-obesity treatment in clinical practice,' the researchers said. Worldwide, 2½ billion adults were overweight in 2022 and 890 million of them were obese, according to the World Health Organization 01:20 China approves popular weight-loss drug Wegovy produced by Danish firm Novo Nordisk China approves popular weight-loss drug Wegovy produced by Danish firm Novo Nordisk
South China Morning Post
20 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
AniTech offers AI kit to tackle depression and suicides in Hong Kong
AniTech, the developer of an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to detect early signs of depression, plans to launch its technology next year to tackle mental illness and suicide among the city's population, co-founder and CEO Candy Lau Po-chun said. The company operates an electroencephalogram (EEG) brain electrical signal-based screening platform, which can be used to help prevent cases among youth and elderly people – two vulnerable groups in the city known for their high levels of pressure and stress in life, it said. 'While Hong Kong legislators have made efforts to support those with mental illnesses and address related suicides, these are insufficient to find hidden patients such as those with mild symptoms,' Lau said in an interview. 'We aim to build on this progress by providing a tool for early screening and prevention.' Hong Kong recorded 1,138 suicides last year, the highest number since 2003, the Samaritan Befrienders said, based on data from the Coroner's Court. Cases rose 4 per cent from 2023. Suicides among students almost tripled to 32 cases over a 10-year period to 2023, according to government data. A Chinese University of Hong Kong survey in 2023 showed a quarter of polled students had mental disorders, while 6.9 per cent had suicidal tendencies. 02:05 Long Covid-19 patients struggle with suicide risk more than 2 years into the pandemic Long Covid-19 patients struggle with suicide risk more than 2 years into the pandemic Co-founder and non-executive director Eddie Ma Chi-him, a professor in neuroscience at City University of Hong Kong, built the AniTech platform using decades of research on EEG signals.
