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DOH wants tobacco plant to butt out 

Amid a row over a British company's plans to build a tobacco plant in a Miaoli township, Taiwan's health chief Yeh Ching-chuan said his agency is opposed to the project.

Yeh, head of the Department of Health (DOH), made the remarks while fielding questions on the issue from lawmakers at a legislative committee meeting.

He said although the DOH is not the agency responsible for the matter, in principle it is opposed to plans to construct the tobacco plant because the plan runs counter to the global anti-smoking trend.

The negative implications, such as public health and pollution, could outweigh the plant's job creation benefits, Yeh said.

The anti-smoking group, the John Tung Foundation, a non-profit agency, voiced its objection to the plan a day earlier. British-based Imperial Tobacco Company Ltd wants to build a tobacco plant in northern Taiwan's Miaoli County Chunan township.

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