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September 28th, 2009:

Blitz operations against smoking offence in FEHD venues

Source: http://7thspace.com/headlines/321687/blitz_operations_against_smoking_offence_in_fehd_venues.html

Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Tobacco Control Office (TCO) of Department of Health jointly carried out a blitz operation at the Cooked Food Centre of (1)Shek Wu Hui Market tonight (September 28). Joint blitz operations were mounted at the Cooked Food Centres of (2)Lockhart Road Market and (3)Pei Ho Street Market and (4)Woosung Street Temporary Cooked Food Hawker Bazaar last week. A total of five Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued during the operations.

Indoor areas of public markets and hawker bazaars under FEHD have been designated as no smoking areas and authorised public officers of FEHD, in addition to officers of the TCO, are empowered to issue FPNs to smoking offenders under the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Ordinance which took effect on September 1 this year. “Apart from monitoring the situation of no smoking areas in markets and hawker bazaars and taking enforcement action on a daily basis, we would also mount joint blitz operations with the TCO to enhance the deterrent effect as and when necessary,” a spokesman for the FEHD added.

Source: HKSAR Government – 

CLEAR THE AIR SAYS:

If 5 FPN smoking tickets issued in 4 different sites is a ‘Blitz’ then proper enforcement should be termed ‘Selective Enforcement by the Hypocritically sensory affected non willing trouble avoiders’

IT IS HIGH TIME HK GOVERNMENT FOLLOWED OVERSEAS JURISDICTIONS AND MADE LICENSEES AND MANAGERS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING BANS IN THEIR PREMISES, OR FACE LOSING THEIR PREMISES’ LICENCES IF THEY DO NOT.

THIS WILL IMMEDIATELY ADD MORE THAN 11,000 ENFORCERS TO THE TOBACCO CONTROL OFFICE SUPPORT.

Holyrood

An email sent from Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive, ASH Scotland

To James Middleton, Clear The Air

I wanted to drop you an email to let you know how the Holyrood conference went and to thank you for your help with our background investigations.

It was a very polarised debate. Around 70 or 80 delegates, including a lot of Trading Standards Officers, a number of pharma reps, about 10 delegates from the retail trade and representative bodies, and big guns from Big Tobacco (TMA, Imperial, JTI, vending machine orgs Sinclair Collis & NACMO as well as FOREST and F2C Scotland).

We had a good showing in the morning and were backed by Scottish Youth Parliament representative in advocating the measures. Patrick Basham (the academic that was recommended by FOREST) played a canny game portraying tobacco use as a natural 4 stage process linked to growing wealth and social perceptions of risk-taking (aspire to smoke, get wealth and take it up, trade up to premium brands, perceive longer term health risks, reduced levels of smoking ending up at around 20-25%) and claiming tobacco control measures are brought in by govts after the natural decline occurs – that they are just putting a ribbon on something taking place anyway and that there’s no evidence to support their effectiveness of tobacco control measures. Scottish Conservatives argued there’s no evidence base for effectiveness of point of sale, so we shouldn’t do it – and if it is done retailers ought to be compensated. EamonnRossi from the Office of Tobacco Control in Ireland was ambushed by a flown-in contingent of Irish retailers (‘Retailers against Smuggling’) protesting against the cost of registration (50 euros) and saying the display ban had led to increased smuggling, but he fielded it well. Our Health Minister was strong on the measures in the bill including ending point of sale and banning self service vending machines, and as you will have seen our Parliament voted through the first stage general approval of the principles in the bill.

Kind regards

Sheila

Sheila Duffy
Chief Executive
ASH Scotland
8 Frederick Street
Edinburgh, EH2 2HB

Tel: 0131 220 9487
Fax: 0131 225 4759
Web: http://www.ashscotland.org.uk

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