The Taipei City Government released a survey yesterday showing that close to 20 percent of female hotel workers are smokers, as opposed to 9.52 percent of adult women overall.
Among the smokers, close to 59 percent were under 39 years old. More than 64 percent of them consume at least half a pack of cigarettes a day.
The participants, however, were divided on the idea of banning smoking in work places. While 50.8 percent said that smoking should be banned in offices, 46.2 percent said smoking should be allowed in designated areas.
The survey, jointly conducted by National Taiwan Normal University and Zhongshan District Health Center last year, focused on studies of smoking habits among 6,000 female employees working at over 20 large hotels in Taipei City's Zhongshan District.
Based on the number of employees in each hotel, the study set the proportion for each and randomly selected 470 of them as its sample. The hotels were selected because they include almost all the major ones in the city and are in general more compliant with government regulations.
The survey results, released on the eve of the official implementation of special health tax on cigarettes, also attempted to address the increase in smoking among women.
Although the government has increased the tobacco tax, placed warning labels on the cigarette packs and even campaigned for years for "smoke free" working environments, these efforts have apparently not hampered the increase in female smoking.
Tsai Shui-fu (
He said the city should work harder to educate working women on the hazards caused by tobacco. It also should tell them that one is not exempted from health risks by smoking "light" cigarettes.
Tsai said the special health tax will not help reduce smoking.
"It is only a NT$5 increase from the previous tax," Tsai said, "Unless the price of each pack, such as Long Life, can be raised to NT$100, it will not make any difference."
Lin Ching-lee (
The most important thing, she said, is the for the government to fully implement the Tobacco Hazards Control Statute (菸害防制法).
"They should find out why women, who traditionally pay more attention to health, tidiness and family obligations, are now willing to put all these behind and smoke," Lin said.
Lin said the tax increase will not reduce the number of smokers, either among men and women. The price per pack, she said, has only increased 20 percent -- from NT$40 to NT$50 -- since the government began allowing the importation of tobacco in 1987.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)