To curb smoking, the government is planning to impose a more stringent ban on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and enlarge health warning graphics on cigarette packets.
Lawmakers and Cabinet officials at a coordination meeting between the Executive Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party caucus on Monday agreed to impose a more encompassing and forceful ban on e-cigarettes to lower smoking rates.
A draft amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), which the Executive Yuan is to approve and submit to the legislature on Thursday, is to ban the manufacture, import, sale and advertising of e-cigarettes.
Under the amendment, the manufacture and importation of e-cigarettes would be punishable by a fine of NT$50,000 to NT$250,000, while the sale of e-cigarettes and their use in non-smoking areas would be punishable by a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$50,000, Cabinet deputy spokeswoman Chang Hsiu-chen (張秀禎) said.
E-cigarettes are currently banned based on an order issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but it is not codified in the act, leaving legal wiggle room, Chang said.
“It is estimated that between 60,000 and 70,000 junior and senior-high school students in Taiwan have used e-cigarettes. Teenagers who have used them are six times more likely to smoke regular cigarettes, so the government must ban e-cigarettes to protect teenagers’ health,” Chang said.
As e-cigarettes contain nicotine, they are also addictive, Chang said, adding that the WHO has advised their regulation.
“The possession and use of e-cigarettes is legal, but should be regulated as regular cigarettes, meaning that people under 18 and pregnant women are prohibited from using e-cigarettes, and it is illegal to use them in non-smoking areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, the amendment would also require cigarette producers to increase the size of health warning graphics to 85 percent of the size of the packet.
Only 35 percent of a cigarette packet is required to be covered by a health warning graphic under current regulations.
The amendment would also ban flavored cigarettes, as well as require the government to provide legal and medical assistance to people who have sustained injuries or damage after attempting to dissuade people from smoking or refusing to offer cigarettes to underage people.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS