2
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1986
SECONDLY, THE AGE AT WHICH SMOKING STARTS IS LATER IN HONG KONG THAN IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. THIS HAS POSSIBLY BEEN A FACTOR IN HELPING TO KEEP OVERALL FIGURES LOW, THE SPOKESMAN SAID, +AS IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT THE OLDER YOU ARE THE LESS LIKELY YOU ARE TO TAKE UP THE HABIT, AND IT IS OBVIOUSLY BETTER IF PEOPLE DO NOT START TO FEEL TEMPTED UNTIL THEY ARE MATURE ENOUGH TO RESIST IT+.
+ON THIS,+ HE ADDED, THE ANTI-SMOKING POLICY COMES TOGETHER WITH THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY'S OWN DECLARED INSISTENCE THAT 'SMOXING SHOULD BE AN ADULT CHOICE*+
BUT ONE ASPECT OF THE LATEST SURVEY RESULTS IS WORRYING IN THIS RESPECT. +THE YOUNGEST GROUP IS THE ONLY SET AMONG THE AGE-GROUPS WHICH SHOWS AN INCREASE, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
+THE FIGURE EVEN FROM ADMITTED SMOKERS IN THE 15-19 YEAR-OLD BAND IS OVER 17 000 AND IF YOU INCLUDE PROBABLE NON-REPORTING AND THOSE UNDER 15, YOU HAVE A VERY MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF SMOKING FOR TEENAGERS.+
THIS FIGURE INDICATED A NEW TREND THAT WAS LIKELY TO CAUSE THE COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH TO ADDRESS ITSELF AT ONCE TO WAYS OF REACHING TEENAGERS AND COUNTER-ACTING THEIR FEELING THAT EARLY SMOKING DEMONSTRATED EARLY MATURITY, THE SPOKESMAN SUGGESTED.
THE LATEST FIGURES STILL SHOWED THE 50-60 AGE-GROUP AS THE PEAK FOR THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF SMOKERS, AND 40-50 AS THE PEAK ONE FOR QUANTITY OF CONSUMPTION, AT 17 CIGARETTES A DAY.
+WE WERE NATURALLY HOPING THAT AS THIS GENERATION GREW OLDER IT WOULD BE REPLACED BY ONE WISER OF THE RISKS OF A HABIT WHICH IS THOUGHT TO BE HONG KONG'S AS WELL AS THE WORLD'S BIGGEST KILLER, WITH LATEST GLOBAL ESTIMATES AT 2-1/2 MILLION PREVENTABLE DEATHS A YEAR.
+THERE IS SOME ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE CONTINUING EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE GIVING UP, HOWEVER, THE SPOKESMAN SAID. MORE THAN HALF OF THE EX-SMOKERS IN THE SURVEY GAVE UP BECAUSE THEY HAD COME TO APPRECIATE THE EXTENT OF THE HEALTH RISK, WHETHER THROUGH THEIR DOCTOR OR THROUGH THEIR OWN REALISATION.
+OBVIOUSLY, THE MAIN HOPE IN THE LONG RUN, IN HONG KONG AND ELSEWHERE, IS THAT THE NUMBER OF EX-SMOKERS WILL EVENTUALLY OVERWHELM THE NUMBER OF SMOKERS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID. THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR IN ITSELF. IT'S A MATTER OF GETTING IT THROUGH,+
/3