Politics
Written by: Liu Jinhua
2019-12-02 14:45
Last updated: 2019-12-02 14:45The Committee on Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019 held a meeting today (2nd) to discuss the prohibition on the import, manufacture and sale of new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco. During the meeting, many members expressed their agreement to ban electronic cigarettes altogether. However, they considered that the nature of heated cigarettes was different and that they should not completely ban the sale and import. The Chairman of the Bills Committee, Guo Weiqiang of the FTU, also pointed out that he did not agree to "seeking speculation." Many members had a consensus on the comprehensive ban on electronic cigarettes, and asked the bureau whether to consider splitting electronic cigarettes and heating cigarettes.
Prior to the meeting, groups such as the Hong Kong Newspaper Traffickers Union and the Heated Tobacco Concern Group petitioned outside the Legislative Council to require the government to regulate, rather than ban, the sale of heated tobacco. Legislative Council cross-party parliamentarians have respectively received petition letters, including the Liberal Party Shao Jiahui, Zhang Yuren, Democratic District Nuo Xuan, Liang Yaozhong and so on.
The government submitted a bill to the Legislative Council this year, advocating a total ban on e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes, but encountered resistance and aborted at any time. (Profile picture)
Government: Unknown toxicity of heating smoke substancePan people: Unknown tear gas
Democrats and constitutional lawmakers at the meeting questioned that the government does not need to completely ban the sale of heating cigarettes. Shao Jiahui, a member of the Liberal Party ’s wholesale and retail sector, pointed out that electronic cigarettes and heating cigarettes are different products. The conclusion runs counter to the materials it quotes. "Talk about it, talk about it." The Liberal Leader Zhang Yuren, who is also a member of the guild, also criticized the government's approach for confusing the audience.
Street worker Liang Yaozhong believes that the government's proposed ban on sales but not on new tobacco products will only form a black market or cause smokers to switch to traditional tobacco. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Ding Guang, is even more described. The government's proposal is to "create crime opportunities" and believes that it will affect the livelihood of newsstands. Mr. Nuo Xuan pointed out that the government should not deny the freedom of business and smoking in society, that smokers should be responsible for their own health, and that they should be regulated rather than banned.
Ruan Huixian, Deputy Secretary-General of the Food and Health Bureau, responded that a comprehensive ban on new tobacco products would protect public health and curb demand, making new tobacco products unpopular and making it difficult for citizens to access the products. She pointed out that the current way of regulating cigarettes is that there is no law governing the smoking of new tobacco products. If only regulation is not banned, the tobacco control work in Hong Kong will be exhausted. Feng Ying, director of the Tobacco Control Office of the Department of Health, said that the toxicity of many substances in heated tobacco is unknown, so there is no reason to believe that the danger of adding tobacco smoke is lower than that of traditional cigarettes, so he proposed a comprehensive ban on new tobacco products.
People's forces Chen Zhiquan questioned that the composition and toxicity of the tear gas were unknown, so why not use the tear gas? The Democratic Party Yin Zhaojian said that he did not mind the comprehensive ban on all smoking products, but questioned why the government did not ban traditional cigarettes at the same time, but banned heating cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.
Huang Dingguang lamented that even if there were still a large number of tourists at the beginning of the year, it was still difficult to operate and ten rooms were empty. It was even worse in the near future when there were social events. (Profile picture)
Liao Sheqing, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Newspaper Vendors, said that in recent months, anti-revision storms have greatly reduced the consumption of local and visiting customers, newsstands have also been affected, and the turnover has fallen by 40% to 50% compared with previous years. He stated that he had received 1,000 industry co-signatures, asking the government to allow merchants to sell heated tobacco under reasonable regulation, instead of banning sales across the board or encouraging citizens to buy from illegal channels. Lu Qilu, a member of the heating cigarette concern group, said that the concern group had conducted opinion surveys with more than 500 citizens, pointing out that 97% of the interviewed citizens thought that the ban would not help citizens quit smoking, but would push heating cigarette users to the underground market. He believes that heating cigarettes is not more harmful than traditional cigarettes, and believes that the government should align heating tobacco products with traditional cigarette regulatory programs.
A member of the Legislative Council of the wholesale and retail sector, Shao Jiahui of the Liberal Party received petitions from various groups before the amendment bill committee met. (Photo by Liu Jinhua)
Heating cigarette e-cigarette liberty party