The implementation of new smoking regulations earlier this year has resulted in 300,000 people quitting smoking, a report by the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.
Based on the results of an annual survey on adult smoking behavior, the DOH’s Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) estimated that there were 3.61 million smokers aged 18 or older in Taiwan this year, down from 3.93 million last year.
The bureau said that the findings were consistent with the results of another BHP-commissioned survey conducted by Shih Hsin University between July last year and this month, which it said showed that a collective anti-smoking spirit was gradually taking shape.
AWARENESS
The survey also found that more than 90 percent of respondents interviewed last month were aware that under the terms of the ban that came into force on Jan. 11, smoking is not allowed in offices with three or more people, on public transport, or in the indoor areas of most public premises.
That marks a significant increase from July last year, when fewer than 60 percent of respondents were aware of the ban.
Compared with last year, exposure to secondhand smoke, both indoors and outdoors, has also been on the decline, the results showed.
Secondhand smoke exposure at home, however, has increased.
While the DOH welcomed the decline in the number of smokers, it acknowledged that the trend was cutting into its revenues.
The DOH had predicted that after the health surcharge on cigarettes was increased from NT$10 per pack of cigarettes to NT$20 in June, revenue from the tax would reach NT$20 billion (US$647 million) this year, but only NT$15 billion has been collected so far.
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