TNAG-1854-FCO40-2629-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 163

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11 January 1989

香港立法局——————————一九八九年一月十一日

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SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, we will keep monitoring the situation and if there should be evidence in the future to suggest that this is becoming a serious problem, obviously we will reconsider our position.

周美德議員問:從案內數字可看出,61人及20人大約佔20%。政府會否認為該百分率是表 示18歲以下青少年酗酒的嚴重性?

SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, these statistics are obviously not conclusive. But as I said in my main reply, through contacts with families through the Families Services Centres of the Social Welfare Department social workers have not got the impression that there is any evidence to indicate that alcoholism is a serious problem among our youths, and this impression is shared by police. Therefore I think we should not take these statistics by themselves and draw any conclusions.

MR. CHEONG: Sir, could I ask the Secretary whether or not the consultation exercise on the prohibition of sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 would include consultation on the possible problems of implementation?

SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, the public consultation exercise will involve the publication of a consultative document which the district boards, if they wish, could discuss, and in response to which members of the public, including all interested parties, could write to the Government to express their opinions. Within the Government, obviously when we consider this recommendation, we would have to take into account the problems of enforcement, if any.

Unfair trading practices

6. MR. PAUL CHENG asked: In the context of continuing protectionism by Hong Kong's major trading partners, and the resulting need not only to continue to promote Hong Kong's free trade system and economic potential but also to ensure that practices which may be construed as unfair in nature are eliminated, will Government inform this Council whether it is aware of situations which may be construed as unfair practices in trade (including trade in services) which may invite retaliatory action by our trading partners and if so, what measures are being taken to rectify such situations?

FINANCIAL SECRETARY: Sir, in the context of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, there is a broadly accepted meaning of the terms "unfair