Tobacco control helps reduce mortality

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong published a study on Monday (6th), stating that the longest life expectancy of Hong Kong people is due to smoking-related diseases and the death rate is the lowest in many regions, and the low rate is related to the low smoking rate and tobacco control policies.

From a medical point of view, the team called on the Legislative Council to pass the revised draft banning e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes.

The amendment is worthy of support, but to protect personal and public health, the government must further completely ban the sale and smoking of cigarettes.

The study pointed out that the death rate of Hong Kong people due to cardiovascular disease is among the lowest in many regions, and the death rate of women due to cancer is one of the lowest. After comparing the life span and disease mortality rate of the population in various regions, it is estimated that local men live longer than wealthy places. Nearly half of the reason is related to the low smoking rate, and the related proportion of girls is also more than one-third.

Leung Cheuk Wai, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, said that successful tobacco control is the key to the life expectancy of Hong Kong's population ahead of the world. To maintain a long life, we must continue to control tobacco, so as to prevent tobacco companies from harming society for the benefit of the industry.

The team believes that e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes will be very attractive to young people and combat the results of tobacco control. Therefore, the Legislative Council is urged to pass the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2019 as soon as possible.

Li Huiqiong, chairman of the DAB, pointed out that the party tends to support the government's plan to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and heating cigarettes.

(Photo by Luo Junhao)

Prohibit the increase of free smokers as soon as possible

As the DAB recently expressed that the whole party supports the government draft, there is a great chance that the draft will be passed.

Even so, there are still people in the parliament who oppose the bill, such as the Liberal Party Member Shao Jiahui in the wholesale and retail sector.

He proposed the amendment, hoping to only regulate but not prohibit the amendment of heating cigarettes, and the degree of regulation is roughly the same as that of traditional cigarettes, and it will be supported by merchants selling new types of tobacco and some tourism, catering, transportation and newspaper vendors.

The rationale for supporting the amendment is nothing more than that the types and quantities of harmful substances released by heated cigarettes are less than those of traditional cigarettes, and the draft is "no sales but no smoking." After the amendment is passed, smokers of new types of cigarettes will switch to smuggled cigarettes. In turn, cracking down on existing merchants or switching to traditional cigarettes will not help reduce the smoking rate.

They also cited other countries that allow heating cigarettes to enter the market legally, and argued that Hong Kong's ban on sales lacked justification.

However, as the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health have pointed out, the acceptability of many studies on the harm reduction of heated cigarettes has been questioned. For example, these studies are funded by the tobacco industry and lack long-term health impact data.

A recent local study pointed out that teenagers who smoked heated cigarettes did not reduce their smoking habits.

In 2019, the proportion of people aged 15 and over who smoked was 11.1%, which was the first increase since 2002/03. Although it is difficult to judge whether it was caused by the increase in e-cigarettes and heating smokers, the upward trend alone has already caused the increase. The society is vigilant and must step up tobacco control.

Since the smoking of new types of tobacco in Hong Kong can still be controlled, the government must legislate to ban it as soon as possible.

Zhong Lijin pointed out that according to the research on heating smoke published by the University of Hong Kong earlier, the health risks of heating smoke may be higher than traditional smoke.

(Photo by Huang Yingjin)

Must stop when procrastinating

The current government has been tossing about the ban on new tobacco products, first from regulation to prohibition of sales, which once caused social controversy.

The government finally proposed amendments in the 2018 Policy Address.

Although the "fugitive offenders ordinance" turmoil and the epidemic have delayed the review, the legislative council's establishment has delayed the review so that it can be carried out in the new year is also one of the obstacles. The medical profession has repeatedly criticized some congressmen for defending the interests of tobacco dealers and deliberately delaying the meeting.

The current amendments to the anti-smoking bill have been transferred to the straight road, and society will not tolerate any mistakes, ensuring that the bill is concluded in this session of Parliament.

As for the business losses caused by illicit cigarettes and smoking bans, the government should take measures to deal with it, such as vigorously cracking down on smuggling and sales of illicit cigarettes, and a transitional compensation arrangement for vendors. In addition, the government should increase tobacco taxes and introduce smoking cessation products. , Provide more counseling services for smokers and others to start, and achieve the goal of zero smokers through a multi-pronged approach.

Smoking has many disadvantages and has been recognized early. Of course, the government should not be deterred by the resistance to its implementation. Members and the industry cannot use this as an excuse.

Tobacco control is not only a method of tobacco taxation. Can the split treatment of heating smoke be passed faster?

The ban on e-cigarettes is only the first step, and a blueprint for smoking bans still needs to be formulated in the future