The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) of the Department of Health (DH) conducted an enforcement operation against illegal waterpipe smoking activities in no smoking areas in Tsim Sha Tsui disrtict yesterday night (July 19).

     During the operation, officers from TACO (including plainclothes officers) issued a total of six fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to persons illegally smoking waterpipes at one bar. TACO's investigation is ongoing and prosecution may also be taken against operators of the bar who are suspected of contravening the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371) (the Ordinance) and the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap. 221) for aiding and abetting smoking offences.
 
     Under the Ordinance, conducting a smoking act in a statutory no smoking area (such as indoor areas of bars or restaurants) is prohibited. Any person doing a smoking act in statutory no smoking areas are liable to a fixed penalty of $1,500. Moreover, where smoking products (including waterpipes) are sold, in bars or otherwise, the restrictions on the promotion and sale of smoking products stipulated in the Ordinance apply. Offenders are liable on summary conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000. Venue managers of statutory no smoking areas are empowered by the Ordinance to request the smoking offender to cease the act; if the offender is not co-operative, he/she may contact the Police for assistance.
 
     Also, under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, any person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission by another person of any offence shall be guilty of the like offence. A spokesman for the DH appeals to operators and venue mangers of bars/restaurants not to assist any person in breaching the statutory smoking prohibitions, or provide a waterpipe apparatus and tobacco to customers for use.

     The DH spokesman stressed that TACO will follow up and investigate every complaint about illegal smoking, and will conduct inspections and take enforcement actions in the venue concerned. TACO will also conduct joint inspections and enforcement action (including plainclothes operations) with other law enforcement agencies from time to time with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement. The DH will continue to closely monitor and take stringent enforcement actions to tackle illegal waterpipe smoking. In the past 12 months, TACO conducted 68 operations against illegal waterpipe smoking activities in no smoking areas. A total of 130 FPNs were issued against smoking offenders, while 74 summonses were issued to staff members and operators of the bars/restaurants for other related offences.

     The spokesman said that waterpipe is a smoking product and its combustion of fuel (e.g. charcoal) releases high concentrations of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas which is a by-product from incomplete combustion of any fuel which contains carbon, such as charcoals. Exposure to a low concentration of carbon monoxide can lead to a range of symptoms such as dizziness, headache, tiredness and nausea; whereas exposure to a high concentration of carbon monoxide can lead to impaired vision, disturbed co-ordination, unconsciousness, brain damage or even death. People should seek medical attention immediately if suspected of developing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

     Due to deeper inhalation and longer smoking session, waterpipe users usually inhale more toxins than they would when smoking cigarettes. A typical one-hour waterpipe smoking session exposes the user to 100 to 200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single conventional cigarette. Moreover, sharing a waterpipe apparatus increases the risk of infectious disease transmission such as tuberculosis. Furthermore, the areas in bars/restaurants where waterpipes are handled or kept have been found to be unhygienic during previous enforcement operations. The spokesman cautions against waterpipe smoking or the use of other smoking products. Smokers should quit smoking as early as possible for their own health and that of others. For more information on the hazards of waterpipe smoking, please visit www.livetobaccofree.hk/pdfs/waterpipe_leaflet_new.pdf.

  

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that happened in Tsuen Wan this morning (July 20) in which a man died.
 
     The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the accident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause.

     ​Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (July 20):
 
Reporter: Now that the threshold for compulsory land sale has been lowered, besides setting up designated offices, what other measures or support would be in place to help affected flat owners? Specifically, would the government consider building new buildings within the same district to accommodate them? Secondly, over the San Tin Technopole development, you mentioned that the government is considering allowing developers who win bid for a land to take on the responsibility of forming land, could you explain the rationale behind this decision and whether there is a concrete plan for how much of the area would be developed with this approach.
      
Secretary for Development: On your first question regarding the compulsory sales, first of all, I must make it very clear that the compulsory sale regime is to facilitate the redevelopment of our aged buildings in the private market. So it is activities in the private market, activities between the private owners of individual flats and those developers who are interested in acquiring their flats. So there is no question of government going into this market and having flats built to rehouse those owners affected. It is a private market activity. Of course, the government has also been rolling out land and the Urban Renewal Authority has also been taking forward redevelopment projects in the urban area. That means there will be new flats in the urban area anyway to help with the decanting with the movement of the owners out of their aged buildings. But again, this is a private activity to happen or happening in the private market, not about government intervention of building private housing for rehousing.
      
     As to what type of support we will give to the minority owners affected by compulsory sale applications, we will be shortly establishing a dedicated support centre. This centre will report to the Development Bureau, so it is a government-led setup. And this centre will provide support for the minority owners in terms of legal advice and independent valuation advice which they will need to tackle the compulsory sale applications. We will also engage the Urban Renewal Authority to invite them to help promote the joint sales among owners who would like to join together and have their flats redeveloped without having to wait for developers to approach them. So we will use a multi-pronged approach to assist minority owners.
      
     As to your second question about the use of this new concept in developing the Northern Metropolis, it may not necessarily be applied to the San Tin Technopole. But this new concept is about the government designated a rather large region in the Northern Metropolis and having that region tendered out to a consortium and require the consortium to deliver what the government required of that land, including private residential, commercial gross floor area and also infrastructure and community facilities. This approach will help reduce the cash flow burden on the government because we do not have to use the public coffers, use public funding to do the site formation and other infrastructure on our own. Whoever is the consortium successfully tendering the land for that region, they will make a bid and in that bid they will take account of the capital cost that they have to incur and give the government a reasonable revenue, so we think it will help in terms of speed and also in terms of government cash flow.
      
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Police today (July 20) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Wong Tai Sin.

     Qiu Huijian, aged 50, went missing after he was last seen in Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate on July 17 night. His family made a report to Police yesterday (July 19).

     He is about 1.8 metres tall and of medium build. He has a squared face with yellow complexion and is bald.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0321 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     The Hong Kong Volunteer Programme of the 15th National Games was launched today (July 20) with the aim of recruiting approximately 10 000 members of the public to participate in voluntary work for the events of the 15th National Games (NG), the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG) to be held in Hong Kong.
 
     Speaking at the launching ceremony of the Programme today, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said that Hong Kong being a co-host of next year's NG, NGD and NSOG is not only a recognition of Hong Kong's sports development by the country, but also an opportunity for the whole community to participate in and personally support this national event, contributing to the sports development of the country. He called on members of the public, companies and organisations to enthusiastically sign up for the Programme, implementing the spirit of "Let's volunteer for the National Games".
 
     Other officiating guests at the launching ceremony included the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung; the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Joe Wong; the Head of the National Games Coordination Office, Mr Yeung Tak-keung; the Chairman of the Agency for Volunteer Service, Ms Melissa Pang; and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Volunteers Association, Mr Andy Kwok.
 
     The Agency for Volunteer Service and the Hong Kong Volunteers Association have been appointed by the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau as the assisting organisations of the Programme. The two organisations will assist in co-ordinating the recruitment of volunteers, as well as their training, work allocation and management.
 
     From now until September 20, persons aged 18 or above (as of December 31, 2024), holding a valid Hong Kong Identity Card and able to speak Cantonese and Putonghua, can visit the Programmme's website at www.2025ngvolunteer.hk for making online applications. Organisations interested in taking part as group volunteers can also apply through the assisting organisations within the application period.
 
     Applicants who have passed the interviews and completed the training courses will be appointed as volunteers to provide services during the test events and games to be held in Hong Kong, including reception services upon arrival and departure, audience services, guest reception, crowd control, transport and logistics, as well as catering management.
      
     For details of the Programme, please visit the website of the Hong Kong Volunteer Programme of the 15th National Games at www.2025ngvolunteer.hk.
      
     The 15th NG will be held from November 9 to 21, 2025, lasting for 13 days. Hong Kong will organise eight competition events, namely, Basketball (men U22), Cycling Track, Fencing, Golf, Handball (men), Rugby Sevens, Triathlon and Beach Volleyball, as well as one mass participation event, Bowling.
      
     The 12th NGD and 9th NSOG will be held from December 8 to 15, 2025, lasting for eight days. Hong Kong will organise four competition events, namely, NGD events Boccia, Wheelchair Fencing and Para Table Tennis (TT11), and NSOG event Table Tennis, as well as one mass participation event, Para Dance Sport.
      
     For more information about the NG, NGD and NSOG, please visit the dedicated webpage under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau at www.cstb.gov.hk/tc/national-games/index.html.