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The Department of Health, which is responsible for primary health care, also plays an important role in Government's anti-smoking efforts by promoting the concept of a healthy lifestyle to the public. In 1994, the Department set up the Health Ambassador Scheme targeted primarily at students and provided intensive training courses to the Health Ambassadors. The training course covers all aspects of a healthy lifestyle, including anti-smoking. With advice from the Department, these Ambassadors then organize different programmes in their schools, districts and neighbourhoods. Anti-smoking messages are thus disseminated effectively through these channels to our young people as well as their friends and families. The Scheme has been gradually extended also to women, teachers, and the elderly. This year, there are about 1,000 Health Ambassadors, and the number will further increase in the coming years.
All these measures and input of resources demonstrate Government's concern and continuing efforts to reduce smoking and thus avoid the ill-health that is associated with it. We have been successful in substantially decreasing the smoking population from 23.3% in 1982 to 14.8% in 1996. This is a good record, but so long as smoking causes ill-health, we cannot afford to be complacent. Not only must we continue to lower the number of smokers in our community, but more important, we must not allow a reversal in the trend.
From time to time, we are asked why Government doesn't ban smoking completely or prohibit the sale of tobacco products when all medical evidence points to the hazards of smoking. I have no doubt that we all share the same objective, namely, to protect individual and public health. Attempts to control through legislation are not the panacea for all social problems. We believe that public education, in combination with a step-by-step approach to regulatory legislation represents a more effective and appropriate approach. We do not believe that the problem would be solved by forcing the smoker or tobacco retailer to become a criminal. All that would happen then is that the problem would be driven underground, with increased smuggling and illegal sales posing an enforcement nightmare, and smokers being harder to reach through public education efforts. However, I do not agree with the Hon Member Mr Chim Pui-chung's comparison of cigarettes with motor vehicles. Vehicles, used according to the manufacturer's instructions, do not kill.
Mr President, let me reaffirm Government's commitment to tackling the problem. We have already taken major strides in the war against smoking by banning all tobacco advertising on TV, in cinemas and on radio. In time, it may be appropriate for Hong Kong to do what many other countries have done and also ban tobacco advertisements in the printed media and on display. Meanwhile, we believe that there is nothing healthy, attractive, glamorous, or grand or cool about smoking and we will see what can be done about advertisements which allude to such qualities.