Tobacco.org

• LCQ8: Sale of illicit cigarettes 

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, in the Legislative Council today (February 8):

Question:

It has been reported that quite a number of traders are suspected of sellingduty-not-paid cigarettes (illicit cigarettes) through a major shopping web site on the Mainland; as the retail price of these illicit cigarettes is 60% lower than that of genuine duty-paid cigarettes, and traders can deliver the illicit cigarettes through courier companies to the buyers' residences in three days, thus quite a number of young people in Hong Kong are attracted to place orders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: . . .

Reply:

President,

(a) The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) has been closely monitoring illicit cigarette activities. Intelligence reveals that the sale of illicit cigarettes via internet is not common.

Last year, C&ED received only a single complaint regarding such activities in the local market. C&ED will continue to monitor the situation so as to prevent such illegal activities. . . .

(c) C&ED will take stringent enforcement actions against illicit cigarette activities. If the illicit cigarette activities involve Mainland websites, as these websites are operated outside Hong Kong, C&ED would refer such cases to the Mainland authorities for follow-up actions or appropriate preventive measures. Having regard to the mode of delivery adopted by such activities, C&ED will also step up inspection on import cargoes to prevent the smuggling of illegal commodities into Hong Kong.

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• No space for cigarettes in HK public libraries  

The ban on smoking in certain premises do not only refer to physically lighting up cigars. The Hong Kong Public Library took it a step further to declare that any mention of cigarette products in any of its periodicals were promptly dealt with.

Proof is a page taken out of Popular Mechanics that is actually an advertisement of a "100% organically grown" tobacco. Oops, it is still visible through the white censor sheet but nevertheless, it is a consistent effort to suppress the promotion of cigarettes and tobaccos in public library premises.

Good one!

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Hong Kong smugglers send millions of dollars of tobacco in mail  

Smuggled tobacco worth about 3.5 million dollars destined for Britain by airmail was seized over the year-end holiday period, Hong Kong customs officers said Tuesday.

More than 9,500 kilograms of hand-rolling tobacco packaged as the Golden Virginia brand was found in 600 airmail parcels declared as gifts and household products addressed to different parts of Britain.

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Smoker jailed for assaulting tobacco control inspector 

A 60-year-old man was sentenced to four months' imprisonment in the Shatin Magistrates' Court today (December 30) upon conviction of assaulting a tobacco control inspector (TCI).

The incident took place in a restaurant called Muk Au Seafood Restaurant in Shatin on August 24, 2011. The man assaulted a TCI when a team of inspectors was inspecting the premises.

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Tobacco dreams up in smoke after huge find  

Customs officers have seized illicit tobacco worth HK$3.9 million that was to be airmailed to Britain.

They later arrested three men, aged between 33 and 49, in connection with the 1.4-tonne cargo.

Among them was the suspected mastermind.

Officers said the tobacco was from the mainland with a value of between HK$2 and HK$4 per 50 grams. It was to be repacked under a false trademark and sold in Britain at up to 10 times the cost.

This is the first time such a large quantity of tobacco has been seized.

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• Tobacco tax set to rise 

The government is preparing to raise tobacco tax, to be introduced after the ban on indoor smoking comes into effect from January 1, secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said yesterday at the Legislative Assembly.

In Macau, the tobacco tax was last updated in 2009 and is currently at MOP 0.2 per cigarette or MOP 4 per 20-cigarette pack. But the Health Bureau has promised to increase this figure, lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong recalled.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Hong Kong the tax was raised this year to HKD 35 per packet, lawmaker Lee Chong Cheng stressed. And In Australia a cigarette packet can cost as much as HKD 120, he added.

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Smoking accessories for cessation? Mixed messages in Hong Kong ($$) 

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003, urges governments to enact and enforce laws to protect the general public from the harms of tobacco products.1 In Hong Kong, China, a high price has already been paid for smoking in terms of both human suffering and healthcare costs.2 Principally, this has been among men, but the increasing prevalence of young and female smokers poses a growing challenge for public health.3 While the Hong Kong government has made efforts to combat smoking by banning tobacco advertisements, extending non-smoking areas and raising tobacco tax, loopholes still exist.

Recently, a company has been promoting a wide range of smoking accessories called 'Smokerhood' that seems to be trying to create an 'ideal smoker' identity, a light and environmentally aware smoker. The name Smokerhood itself suggests the foundations of such an identity by conveying a sense of belonging'to a neighbourhood or brotherhood'which must be attractive to adolescents and young adults who are trying to

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LCQ8: Tobacco control measures 

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (October 26):

Question:

A survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department between October and December 2010 revealed that the prevalence of daily cigarette smokers aged 15 or above was 11.1% in 2010, which is slightly lower than the 12% in 2009, yet, the number of young smokers among these people increased significantly by 40% while the number of smokers over 60 years old also increased by 5% instead of decreasing. The Financial Secretary has raised the tobacco duty in the 2011-2012 financial year by 41.5%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) how the smoking population in this financial year up to the present compares with that of the same period last year, and list the relevant data by age group distribution;

(b) whether the authorities have assessed the reasons for the substantial increase in the number of young smokers by 40% in last year; whether they have followed up the problem; if they have, of the specific measures; if not, the reasons for that; . . .

Reply:

President,

The Government surveys smoking prevalence in the population from time to time.

The last two surveys on the smoking prevalence in the population aged 15 and above were conducted from October 2010 to December 2010 and from November 2009 to February 2010 respectively by the Census and Statistics Department. The smoking prevalence by age groups as found in these two surveys are at Table. The statistics show that the proportion of persons who had a daily smoking habit among all persons aged 15 and above dropped from 12.0% (698,700) to 11.1% (657,000).

All age groups saw a significant drop in smoking prevalence except the age groups of age 60 or above and age 15 to 19.

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Children to help parents kick habit  

Plain cigarette packaging is not on the cards anytime soon for Hong Kong, but there is to be a program for kids to help parents quit smoking.

That was the word from Director of Health Lam Ping-yan as he explained that a watch will be kept on how Australia does with its world- first effort to see all brands of cigarettes in the same drab but alarming packets.

The priority for Hong Kong just now, Lam said, is to introduce more quit-smoking clinics and increase efforts at the ones already in operation.

The Department of Health currently runs six clinics on its own or through joint efforts, and funding will be increased for more services in clinics at Tung Wah and Pok Oi hospitals.

"We'll also involve the Po Leung Kuk for a school-based program so that children can go home and ask their parents to quit," Lam said.

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• HK to show the world how to stop smoking ($$) 

The World Health Organisation has handed Hong Kong a key role in the global battle against smoking, in recognition of the city's success in cutting tobacco consumption.

A combination of higher taxes, social factors and effective anti-tobacco campaigning has seen the number of people aged 15 and above who smoke in Hong Kong drop to a current level of 11.1 per cent, down from 12 per cent in 2009, and one of the lowest rates in the developed world.

The low rate of smoking has won praise from the WHO, which says Hong Kong's achievements can serve as an example not only to the mainland - which is home to the highest number of smokers in the world - but the wider region.

Senior WHO adviser Susan Mercado told the Sunday Morning Post that, from next year, Hong Kong will host the international organisation's global collaboration centre on tobacco control.

Hong Kong will become the first "non-country'' to take up the training role, normally only reserved for sovereign states. It will see health professionals from around the region coming to the city to be schooled in smoking-cessation skills.

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Gaile Lai burns own hand  

ng Kong model Gaile Lai has a burn mark on the back of her left hand . . .

A close friend said that when Leon learned she had used a cigarette to burn her hand he threw away her cigarettes and ashtrays.

He also gave her a good telling off and said she was "too immature to be a mom."

Gaile reportedly apologized to Leon with tears streaming down her face.

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• Tobacco battle lines form  

United Nations health chief Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, has come out fighting against tobacco giants, urging Asian governments not to be cowed by the industry but instead maintain life-saving efforts against smoking.

Big tobacco's efforts to subvert the World Health Organization's framework convention on tobacco control "are now out in the open and extremely aggressive," WHO director general Chan said.

The former Hong Kong health official was speaking at yesterday's opening of the 62nd regional committee meeting of WHO Western Pacific, which includes the SAR and the mainland.

Chan recounted how firms have filed lawsuits. One target, she noted, is Australia, the first nation to legislate for plain cigarette packets to hit marketing efforts.

Such dirty tactics "are deliberately designed to instil fear in other countries wishing to introduce similarly tough tobacco control measures," she said. . . .

Urging WHO members to unite in anti-smoking efforts and back ideas like Australia's on packaging, Chan added: "It is horrific to think that an industry known for its dirty tricks and dirty laundry could be allowed to trump what is clearly in the public's best interest."

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Hong Kong sees number of smokers fall to one in nine  

The number of smokers in Hong Kong has fallen to just one in nine adults, one of the world's lowest levels, the city's government announced Thursday.

Around 709,000 people or 11.1 per cent of people aged 15 and above in the city smoke, compared to more than 23 per cent in 1982, Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department said.

Just under 20 per cent of Hong Kong men smoke, the first time the rate has fallen to less than one in five, while just 3 per cent of women are smokers, the department said.

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• Smoking rate hits historic low level 

Smoking rate in Hong Kong hit a historic low of 11.1 percent in 2010, the Tobacco Control Office of the Department of Health said on Wednesday, reporting that smokers accounted for only 11.1 percent of the population in 2010, despite a slight increase in smoking among youngsters aged 15 to 19.

About 675,000 persons in the city, age 15 or above, were smokers, said Raymond Ho Lei-ming, head of the office.

The figure is based on a survey released by the Census and Statistics Department earlier on Wednesday.

The rate is the lowest recorded since 1982, Ho said.

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Cigarettes in Hong Kong, China: New research report available at Fast Market Research 

Euromonitor International's Cigarettes in Hong Kong, China report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2006-2010, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts to 2015 illustrate how the market is set to change.

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