Press Releases
SHWF meets Canadian Minister of Health
The Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, today (April 1) met
the visiting Canadian Minister of Health, the Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh, and his
delegation to discuss areas of mutual concern, including the delivery of public
health services, emergency preparedness systems and efforts in tobacco control.
During the meeting, Dr Chow outlined the measures adopted in Hong Kong in
preventing avian influenza to the visitors. He also briefed them on Hong Kong's
preparedness plan for influenza pandemic and the Government's plan to introduce
legislation on tobacco control.
Mr Dosanjh and his delegation then joined a roundtable with senior officials
from the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and heads of departments under its
ambit to explore areas for bilateral collaboration including avian influenza
prevention and the control of infectious diseases. The meeting also shared
experience on the launching of an anti-smoking campaign.
Later in the day, at a luncheon hosted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Dr
Chow thanked Mr Dosanjh for sharing with Hong Kong Canada's experiences in
smoking control. Dr Chow pointed out that Canada and Hong Kong shared common
goals in anti-smoking efforts.
Noting that Canada had done a tremendous job in this area and was able to
implement tobacco control in all provinces, Dr Chow said this was a good
experience for Hong Kong to learn from.
"We have learnt from experience that the best way is to go full ban in indoor
working places. That is what we determine to do.
"We will be sending a Bill to the Legislative Council in May to tighten tobacco
control. Key proposals include a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and public
places, including restaurants, bars and karaokes with no exemption. The Bill
will also set more restrictions on the promotion of tobacco products.
"Second-hand smoking is basically a very polite way of saying that you are
forcing people to inhale carcinogen. Once we start to put smoking ban into
implementation, there will be objection from certain sectors. However, the
experiences from Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Italy, you know it worked and
it should work for Hong Kong too," Dr Chow said.
Dr Chow felt strongly that the legislation would be passed as there was strong
public support for banning smoking in all enclosed areas, particularly in public
areas.
"It is not just passing the law itself. We have to ensure the public understand
the reasons behind the law so that we can pass the law and implement it with the
acceptance of the public," he added.
Dr Chow said close liaison between Canada and Hong Kong was also manifested in
other areas. An example was the participation of Health Canada's expert team in
the investigation works of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak
in Amoy Gardens in 2003 under the auspices of the World Health Organization.
Dr Chow added that Hong Kong also very much valued Mr Dosanjh's advice on
various other areas including infection control as well as health care
financing.
In the afternoon, Mr Dosanjh and his delegation visited the Centre for Health
Protection to see for himself the new public health infrastructure tasked to
enhance prevention and control of diseases in Hong Kong in collaboration with
local and international stakeholders.
Ends/Friday, April 1, 2005
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