The name of the nation's major cigarette brand will no longer be "Longlife" once a much-tougher amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Act (菸害防治法) is passed and implemented, government sources said yesterday.
The amendment -- passed by the Executive Yuan yesterday and to be soon submitted to the Legislative Yuan for approval -- stipulates that all words and phrases hinting that cigarettes are "mild," "low tar," or "may lead people to mistakenly believe that smoking does not impair health" will be banned from packs or containers of cigarettes.
Smokers and dealers' days in the future are seen to be more difficult, as the amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Act is carrying much tougher articles than before, including that tobacco tax, imposed to finance the cash-strapped national health insurance program, will be raised from NT$5 to NT$10 per pack.
Premier Frank Hsieh (
The amendment also imposes much stricter regulations on tobacco advertising or sponsorship of events.
No-smoking areas will also be increased noticeably -- extending to college and university campuses, buses and MRT systems, taxis, karaoke clubs, Internet parlors and other indoor public places.
Violators, whether they are cigarette manufacturers or importers, will face fines ranging from NT$500,000 (US$15,800) to NT$2.5 million per violation. If they are advertising agents or media outlets, they will face fines ranging from NT$200,000 to NT$1 million per violation.
Selling cigarettes in places where smoking is prohibited will also be banned, with violators facing fines from NT$2,000 to NT$10,000 per violation, according to the amendment.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
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A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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