XN000022-1997-04-11 — Page 5

Government Bill on smoking to be gazetted

The Government will gazette a Bill to amend the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance next Friday (April 18), a spokesman for the Health and Welfare Branch said today (Friday).

"As part of our ongoing anti-smoking policy, we are introducing further restrictions on tobacco advertising as well as on the use, sale and promotion of tobacco products.

"There will also be a new mechanism to facilitate the setting up of statutory no smoking areas in certain public places", he said.

The main features of the Bill are:

to ban display-type tobacco advertisements, including posters; printed, painted or photographic advertisements on walls, hoardings and public transport; signs on buildings and lightboxes;

to empower the managers of restaurants, department stores, shopping malls, supermarkets and banks to designate any part of their premises as a no-smoking area, if they wish to do so;

and to prohibit the sale of cigarettes in packets of less than 20 sticks and the sale of tobacco products from vending machines, so as to make them less accessible to young smokers.

The Bill would also:

provide for stronger and more prominent health warnings on tobacco product packages and in advertisements;

prohibit the giving and use of tobacco products in connection with promotion or advertisement;

introduce a requirement for cigarette packets and advertisements to indicate both tar and nicotine yields; and