Proposed smoking ban bashed by businesses
 
2005-11-12 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Jenny W. Hsu

Calling the government "tyrannical" and "unreasonable," a panel of restaurateurs, nightclub owners, and coffee shop keepers voiced their disdain yesterday for the recently proposed ban on smoking in all public areas.

On Wednesday, the first hearing of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act amendment was passed at the Legislative Yuan. In addition to the public smoking prohibition, the bill includes a NT$5 cigarette tax increase, which will take the tax up to a total of NT$10 per pack. The bill is expected to come up for full legislative review before January.

A representative from the Food and Beverage Business Alliance of the Greater Taipei area surnamed Lin said the law was unjustly passed because the lawmakers neglected to ask for input from the industry.

"Our needs and concerns were completely overlooked," Lin said.

A nightclub owner surnamed Chang lambasted Taiwan's democratic system and said, "One day the government threatened to enact the law, and the next morning it was passed. No one asked us how we felt about this law. This is affects our livelihood. When did Taiwan become a dictatorship?"

As part of the anti-smoking movement, the government is demanding all tobacco vendors to display a gruesome picture of a man with an overgrown cancerous tumor on his neck with the caption "smoking can cause a slow and painful death."

Chang said, "If we have to show this disgusting picture, then shouldn't all the fur and leather shops be forced to show a picture of an animal slaughter house?"

"The law is a blatant discrimination and violation of people's right to smoke," Chang added.

Another nightclub owner is worried the law will adversely affect her revenue by driving her clients away.

"Tobacco and alcohol go hand-in-hand. How can they expect an alcoholic venue not to have cigarettes?" she said. "Smoking is part of nightlife."

However, some studies show that banning smoking in public places has not decreased the profits of the restaurant industry in the U.S. where over 100 cities, such as Manhattan, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Also over 10 European countries have passed or are in the process of passing a national anti-smoking law.

If the government is serious then they should outline a phasing out period for vendors and smokers, said Chang.

"They should allow time for people to get adjusted to the new restrictions." 
 
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Activist groups push for smoking ban in public places

2005-10-02 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Evelyn Chiang

Anti-smoking groups said yesterday that with 92 percent of Taiwan's people supporting a complete ban on smoking in indoor places, the Legislature needed to speed up its review of proposed amendments that would put a dent in the smoking habits of local residents.

They urged the Legislature to screen the amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act as quickly as possible and focus on smoking prevention measures rather than simply raising the cost of tobacco to earn revenues for the financially troubled National Health Insurance program.

The survey conducted recently on the activist groups' behalf showed the public's backing for more restrictions on smoking, said John Tung Foundation Executive Director Jacob Jou.

He said 60 percent of all respondents supported a key clause in the pending amendments that would raise cigarette prices by NT$10 per pack, while more than 60 percent favored marking cigarette packs with more noticeable health warnings.

The survey also found that over 70 percent of respondents supported the idea of banning tobacco companies from advertising or launching product promotions, Jou added.

Case for healthier lifestyle

The implication of these results taken as a whole, he said, was that many people in Taiwan still frequently experience second-hand smoke, and that legislators should join forces and use the law to promote a healthier lifestyle.

While Jou backed higher prices for cigarettes, he also suggested more needed to be done to prevent smoking, including working on cigarette pack markings.

The legislators have proposed that health warnings should cover 30 percent of the cigarette pack's surface area, for example, but Jou believed that was insufficient compared to regulations in other countries, such as Canada, Singapore and Venezuela, where at least 50 percent of cigarette packs are devoted to health warnings.

Enlarging the health warnings, whether in pictures or words, could hopefully lead to the smokers having second thoughts and change their minds when they pick up the cigarettes, he said.

In other findings, over half of the respondents said they have been affected by secondhand smoke in public places, and 37 percent said they had been exposed to secondhand smoke in an indoor workplace, said Steve Liang, the director of the Institute of Public Opinions at Shih Hsin University.

Liang noted that the results also showed that nearly 80 percent of the respondents expected smokers to respect others' right to breathe and not smoke in indoor public spaces, with 92 percent saying they would support a complete ban on smoking in indoor public spaces and workplaces.

Labeling issues

The activists urged legislators to use the World Health Organization's regulations as a reference as they hammered out the amendments, so that the modified act could keep pace with other countries such as Canada, Thailand, and Brazil.

Taiwan International Medical Alliance Secretary-General Huang Song-lih stressed that Taiwan should follow South Korea in prohibiting the usage of positive words, such as "lucky" or "Long-life" as brand names for tobacco products. The WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control also specified that tobacco products should not use false or misleading labeling such as "mild" or "low tar" on the packs, he noted.

A potential indoor smoking ban has drawn resistance from restaurants and bars concerned they would suffer a drop in revenue. The government is also worried about a fall in tax revenue.

But Homemakers' Union and Foundation Director Yen Mei-chuan cited examples from foreign countries, including New York and Massachusetts, which both saw an increase in profit after similar bans had been imposed.
 
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