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"Generally, the committee must be satisfied that the proposed project meets the objectives of the Language Fund," she added.
The Language Fund, set up in May 1994 with an initial allocation of $300 million, is to support proposals and initiatives that will raise the standards in Chinese (including Putonghua) and English, enhance existing efforts and meet 'temporary shortfalls in language teaching resources. The Fund also encourages research into problem areas and initiation of new approaches.
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Latest findings on cigarette tar and nicotine yields
The Government's latest Review of Tar and Nicotine Yields of Cigarettes has shown that the average tar and nicotine yields of the 105 best-selling cigarettes in Hong Kong in 1995 were 13.1 milligrams (mg) and 0.92 mg per cigarette respectively.
They were similar to the previous year's findings of 13.2 mg and 0.93 mg, a spokesman for the Health and Welfare Branch said today (Monday).
According to the review. 23 brands of cigarettes were in the LOW TAR group (0 to 9 mg/cigarette), 31 brands in the LOW to middle TAR group (10 to 14 mg/cigarette), 43 brands in the MIDDLE TAR (15 to 17 mg/cigarette) group and eight brands in the HIGH TAR group (18 to 20 mg/cigarette).
All 105 brands of cigarettes carried on their packets and cartons a tar group designation as claimed by their manufacturers. However, 14 brands were found to have been labelled with tar groups inconsistent with the test findings with six of them being under-reported and eight over-reported.
"Manufacturers may continue to sell the cigarettes using the previous designation for a period of 12 months," he said.
Under the current legislation, if the determination of the Government Chemist for any brand of cigarettes differs by not more than one mg from the previous determination and has the effect of placing the cigarettes in a tar group other than that to which they would have belonged, the brand may continue to use its previous designation subject to the Director of Health's written approval.