The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should clarify the rules governing imports of heated tobacco products, so people do not attempt to bring them through customs only to have them confiscated, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) and Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said yesterday.
While he does not encourage smoking, the IQOS tobacco heating system is a less harmful alternative to combustible cigarettes, Ho told a news conference in Taipei, citing a review of the product by the US Food and Drug Administration, which found that it produces lower levels of toxins than cigarettes.
Many people who cannot quit tobacco have switched to the new products, which have a much more subtle smell than traditional cigarettes, making them more acceptable for non-smokers, Ho said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
However, some customs officers have confiscated heated tobacco products, even though they were declared, he said.
A man surnamed Liao (廖) told the news conference that he tried to import Heatsticks, but they were seized by customs officers, who could not provide him with a clear explanation as to what law he contravened.
An officer made him write a report “as if he were a drug smuggler,” Liao said.
The US agency has authorized the sale of heated tobacco products, and Taiwan should conduct a health risk assessment of the products to determine whether to allow them to be imported, Tsai said.
This would reduce the number of products circulating in the gray market and better safeguard public health, Tsai said.
Taiwan’s FDA should consult the Ministry of Finance to avoid forgoing potential tax revenue, he said.
Customs Administration Senior Auditor Chen Tai-ming (陳泰明) said that there is a lack of regulations over bringing heated tobacco products into the nation.
Even though it is not illegal, any such product shall be confiscated, Chen said.
Ko Ruei-chi (柯睿期), a section chief at the Health Promotion Administration’s Tobacco Control Division, said that internationally there is a lack of a standard testing procedure for assessing health risks posed by heated tobacco products.
Many studies suggest that the products still release toxins, he said.
Taiwan’s FDA should prepare a report on potential health issues associated with heated tobacco products within three months, Ho said.
Ko said it would do its best.
People who want to quit smoking should seek medical help rather than switching to emerging tobacco products, Ko said.
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching
HOSPITALITY HIT: Hotels in Hualien have an occupancy rate of 10 percent, down from 30 percent before the earthquake, a Tourism Administration official said The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled a stimulus package of vouchers and subsidies to revive tourism in Hualien County following a quake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale. The tremor on April 3, which killed at least 17 people and left two others missing, caused the county an estimated NT$3 billion (US$92.7 million) in damages. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is to issue vouchers worth NT$200 at the price of NT$100 for purchases at the Dongdamen Night Market (東大門夜市) in Hualien City to boost spending, a ministry official told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting in Taipei. The ministry plans to issue 18,400