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Health

Publicity and Education

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH), an independent statutory body, advises the government on smoking, passive smoking and health, and on publicising the hazards of smoking. The COSH conducts various publicity, education and community involvement campaigns. It also operates a website, www.smokefree.hk, and a telephone hotline to receive enquiries and suggestions from the public on smoking and health. In 2013, the COSH's publicity and educational programmes attracted an attendance of about 158,000 people. The DH collaborates with NGOs to deliver school-based smoking prevention activities.

Smoking Cessation and Prevention of Youth Smoking

The DH provides advice on how to quit smoking, counselling services and pharmaceutical treatment through various channels, including a hotline, clinics and an interactive online cessation centre. In 2013, over 13,000 telephone calls were received by the smoking cessation hotline. The DH also broadcasts announcements on TV and radio, conducts seminars and issues health education materials to increase public awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and second-hand smoke. The DH collaborates with a number of NGOs to run community-based smoking cessation programmes, including the use of Chinese medicine acupuncture, peer-led phone counselling, and smoking cessation services at the workplace. In 2013, the DH (in) collaboration with an NGO) launched a smoking cessation programme for ethnic minority and new immigrants.

The HA also provides smoking counselling and cessation services through its 10 full-time and 45 part-time 'Smoking Counselling and Cessation Centres. It operates a telephone hotline providing booking and enquiry services for smokers who wish to quit smoking.

Disease Prevention and Control

The DH spent $2.2 billion on disease prevention and control at its maternal, child health and elderly health centres and similar facilities in the 2012-13 financial year.

Centre for Health Protection

The CHP collaborates with its local and international counterparts to prevent and control diseases in Hong Kong. It works on three principles: real-time surveillance, rapid intervention and responsive risk communication. To carry out its mission, the CHP works to protect the health of the community, promote healthy living in the community, and partner with stakeholders to achieve its objectives. The CHP keeps track of communicable diseases and issues surveillance reports on a regular basis, as well as reports on laboratory data.

A board of scientific advisers, comprising experts from different disciplines, and seven scientific committees meet periodically to assist the CHP in formulating effective policies to improve the local health protection system. Regular training and research programmes are also conducted.

The CHP also uses health education campaigns and publicity programmes run in association with district councils to provide information and guidelines on diseases, alert the public to health threats and facilitate rapid implementation of preventive measures. In addition,

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