SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1987
WORKS OF PROVISIONAL COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH PRAISED
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THE HONG KONG COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH IS DUE TO BE FULLY ESTABLISHED UNDER ITS OWN ORDINANCE LATER THIS YEAR ONCE THE NECESSARY LEGISLATION HAS BEEN PASSED, THE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE, MR JOHN CHAMBERS, SAID TODAY (SATURDAY).
MR CHAMBERS WAS SPEAKING AT A CONFERENCE ENTITLED + INTERNATIONAL UPDATE ON TOBACCO-RELATED PROBLEMS+, JOINTLY ORGANISED BY THE HEALTH AND WELFARE BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT AND THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH.
+ IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE VERY APPROPRIATE THAT THE COUNCIL IN ITS PRESENT PROVISIONAL FORM SHOULD HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PUBLICISE BOTH ITS OWN WORK AND THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL EVIDENCE WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WORK, HE SAID.
AND HE HOPED THAT THE CONFERENCE WOULD PROVIDE AN EVEN FIRMER AND MORE UP-TO-DATE BASE FOR THE COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH TO CONTINUE THE WORK SO EXCELLENTLY BEGUN BY THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL.
MR CHAMBERS THANKED ORGANISERS AND SPEAKERS OF THE CONFERENCE FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, AND SAID HE WAS PLEASED TO SEE IN THE AUDIENCE A WIDE RANGE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CONCERNED ORGANISATIONS AS WELL AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH, DR RONALD LEUNG, SAID AT THE SAME CONFERENCE THAT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE GOVERNMENT HAD ACHIEVED A SUCCESS IN THE FIELD OF SMOKING AND HEALTH WHICH HAD BEEN NOTED WORLDWIDE.
NUMBERS OF SMOKERS HAD DROPPED CONSIDERABLY THROUGH A COMBINATION OF EXEMPLARY LEGISLATION, INTENSIVE PUBLICITY, AND THE STRONG DISINCENTIVE OF A VERY SHARP TAX HIKE, HE SAID.
DR LEUNG SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD GIVEN THE COUNCIL A GREAT 'SEND-OFF WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF TWO MAJOR ADVANCES IN LEGISLATION AGAINST TOBACCO USE, NAMELY THE PROSPECTIVE BAN ON TOBACCO ADVERTISING ON TV AND RADIO AND A COMPLETE BAN ON SMOKELESS TOBACCO.
IT IS, THEREFORE, LOGICAL TO PRESUME THAT OUR COUNCIL ON SMOKING AND HEALTH SHOULD FOLLOW UP ON THESE TWO ISSUES.
+WE SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON AN EVENTUAL COMPLETE BAN ON TOBACCO ADVERTISING IN ALL ITS FORMS, AND TO ARRIVE AT A TIMETABLE FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE BAN ON TV AND RADIO TO ALL OTHER ADVERTISING MEDIA.
/+FURTHERMORE, AS