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Banning Electronic Cigarettes|Tang Xiu Qi Yushang, Senator Don’t Release Heating Cigarettes: Don’t Let Children Be White Rats

2021-03-29T23:04:36.792Z


Legislative proposals to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes have been heated up in all sectors of society, and the draft will be reviewed in the Legislative Council. Tang Xiuqi, the new chairman of the Smoking and Health Committee, said in an interview with "Hong Kong 01" that "Adults can


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Written by: Zhang Meilan and Li Enci

2021-03-30 07:00

Last update date: 2021-03-30 07:00

Legislative proposals to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes have been heated up in all sectors of society, and the draft will be reviewed in the Legislative Council.

Tang Xiuqi, the new chairman of the Smoking and Health Committee, said in an interview with "Hong Kong 01", "Adults can continue to debate that heated cigarettes are more harmful than traditional cigarettes and reduce the harm, but if they are released for sale, they will become white mice for children. For 10 years Twenty years later, I don’t know that it will have an impact on their health.” He pointed out that tobacco companies continue to disseminate information to beautify new tobacco products, misleading the public, and members who are still vacillating in their messages will retreat from the cliff, otherwise the biggest beneficiaries will only be Tobacconist.

Tang Xiuqi said frankly that he was optimistic that the draft would be passed in this legislative year.

"Yijiazhengzheng (new tobacco products) has not spread to the market, and it should be stopped in time. It will be difficult to stop smoking after tens of thousands of people." The current bill "No sales and no fasting", he said. I personally hope that a few years after the passage of the bill, the government can consider further tightening the law, making the smoking of heated cigarettes and e-cigarettes illegal, so as to achieve a complete eradication.

Tang Xiuqi, the new chairman of the Committee on Smoking and Health, said in an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" that he hoped that members of the Legislative Council would support a total ban on e-cigarettes, so as not to destroy Hong Kong's past tobacco control work.

(Photo by Li Zetong)

The release of heating cigarettes is easy to have a portal effect. The smoking rate in Hong Kong in the next few years has the opportunity to soar. That is to say, it will destroy the successful tobacco control work in the past 30 years!

Tang Xiuqi, Chairman of the Committee on Smoking and Health

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Legislative Council re-examines the e-cigarette ban bill today

The government introduced the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019 to the Legislative Council the year before, prohibiting the import, manufacture or sale of alternative tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.

In the past 10 meetings, parliamentarians from various parties have been vying to hold on; what was regarded as a stillborn bill, was re-examined in the extended Legislative Council, and the Bills Committee will meet to discuss it today (30th).

Tang Xiuqi said bluntly that he is optimistic about the passage of the bill in this legislative year, because he believes that most of the legislators also consider the health of the public. "Life, health, and public health must be our top priority. Other options should not be considered. first."

However, he said that the lobbying power of tobacco companies is so great that there are many misunderstandings that beautify heating smoke. The Committee on Smoking and Health often needs to clarify that there is no evidence that heating smoke is less harmful to the human body.

Tang Xiuqi emphasized that heating smoke easily brings about a "gateway effect", that is, many people who have no smoking habit will also first come into contact with heating smoke and then smoke traditional cigarettes.

He quoted a study by the University of Hong Kong that more than half of heat-smokers also smoked traditional cigarettes. A Japanese study also indicated that the rate of heat-smokers who switched to traditional cigarettes was 10 times higher than that of non-smokers who started smoking.

▼Heating cigarettes and electronic cigarettes have become popular in recent years▼

Stopping before flooding: tens of thousands of people can hardly stop smoking

The current smoking rate in Hong Kong is 10.2%, and there are fewer people who smoke alternative tobacco than traditional cigarettes. Some people think that the problem is not serious and that the policy of banning alternative cigarettes does not need to be one size fits all.

Tang Xiuqi retorted: "Yijiazhengzheng (new tobacco products) has not spread to the market. It should be stopped in time and stop selling. It will be difficult to reach tens of thousands of people and stop smoking."

Some lawmakers and smokers’ organizations have suggested that e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes be regulated separately, claiming that heating cigarettes contain less harmful substances than traditional cigarettes. However, he pointed out that heating cigarettes and traditional cigarettes are only different in ignition method, and they also contain harmful tobacco. Xiu Qi is worried, "The heating smoke is similar to traditional cigarettes, and the release of heating smoke is easy to have a portal effect. The smoking rate in Hong Kong in the next few years will have the opportunity to soar. That is to destroy the successful tobacco control work in the past 30 years! "

Hope that the government can draw up a blueprint for a smoke-free plan for the next 10 to 20 years

Regarding external criticism of the committee’s choice of easy, not difficult, and influential traditional cigarettes, Tang Xiuqi said that Hong Kong needs to gradually reduce the smoking rate step by step. The most shocking thing is that even heating the smoke has become a historical issue."

In 2018, the Food and Health Bureau has set a target to reduce the smoking rate to 7.8% by 2025.

There are still more than 600,000 citizens smoking daily. Tang Xiuqi frankly admitted that a total ban is "a certain degree of difficulty", but emphasized that "total smoke-free" is the long-term goal of the committee. He hopes that the government can draw up a blueprint for the next 10 to 20 years.

He said that he is most concerned about the expenditure and pressure of public healthcare in Hong Kong. He pointed out that more than 6,000 people die from smoking-related diseases every year. He believes that the negative impact of smoking on Hong Kong’s economic productivity can be hundreds of millions. Good thing.

Many smokers switched to heating smoke.

(Photo by Luo Guohui/Profile Picture)

Advocate the illegal use of e-cigarettes to heat cigarettes

Tang Xiuqi also said that it is hoped that a few years after the draft is passed, the government can consider amending the law to make smoking heated cigarettes illegal.

He believes that when Hong Kong bans the sale of other types of grass for long enough, most people will abide by the law and stay away from this type of tobacco. Only a few people will keep the stock. By then, the authorities will ban smoking, which is a more effective way to stop it.

The appearance of e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes is fashionable. Tang Xiuqi is particularly worried that it will attract young people. He pointed out that it is necessary to adopt a multi-pronged approach to eliminate new tobacco.

He said that allowing adults to buy it does not prevent young people from being exposed to e-cigarettes. He quoted data as saying that the United States has banned people under 21 from buying new tobacco products the year before, but the rate of local youth smoking these tobacco products is 27%. It continues to climb; and South Korea introduced heating cigarettes in 2017 and does not allow people under the age of 19 to buy them. However, a year later, 2.9% of young people have smoked, and this has risen to 4.9% in 2019.

Therefore, he believes that young people must not be given the image of "smipping in a few years is legal" and must be completely prohibited.

He said that the committee focuses on public education and youth education, and has always held interactive theaters in elementary schools; launched non-smoking programs such as "smoke-free TEENS" in secondary schools; and will also post publicity messages on social media.

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Electronic cigarette heating smoke

Source: hk1

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