Originally published February 4 2006
Hong Kong cracks down on big tobacco marketing practices
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Hong Kong's Smoking Bill 2005 requires cigarette manufacturers to change the words "mild" and "light" on their packaging because of the misleading nature of those descriptions.
Hong Kong may become the first jurisdiction in the world to force tobacco manufacturers to change the names of their brands, a government official has told legislators.
Under the Smoking (Public Health Amendment) Bill 2005, likely to be passed next year, manufacturers are prohibited from using misleading descriptions such as "mild" and "light"on their packaging.
An attempt by representatives of Japan Tobacco to get lawmakers to remove this limitation in a Bills Committee meeting Monday failed to find much support.
Japan Tobacco presented results of a survey, conducted by Research/Strategy/Management last month, which showed that smokers did not necessarily associate the brand name Mild Seven with tobacco that was less harmful to health.
Japan Tobacco vice president Albert Chan said it is unfair for the government to press the company to change the name of a well-known brand, especially as most people in Hong Kong knew Mild Seven by its Cantonese name, Mann Si Fat, which roughly translates as "many things bring fortune."
However, Yeung said that with limited advertising channels available to them, tobacconists might be tempted to use brand names as a marketing strategy.
She said the purpose of amending the law is to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and to send out an educational message to young people.
Chan suggested that instead of a blanket ban on misleading names, Hong Kong could adopt the policy used by Japan and Mexico, which requires manufacturers to put on their packaging a warning informing smokers that descriptions such as "light" and "mild" do not indicate that the cigarettes are less harmful to health.
Earlier this year, the company said it was considering legal action against the government for allegedly breaching the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights over a proposed ban.
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