From May to November last year, the Health Promotion Administration commissioned the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation to operate “undercover observations” of 854 vendors across the nation’s 22 administrative regions.
They found that 26.9 percent of vendors did not ask customers to verify their age when buying tobacco products.
Of those observed, betel nut stalls were the most egregious violators of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), with close to 40 percent of those observed not asking for identification.
More than 20 percent of chain convenience store respondents also contravened the law.
When asked what the legal age to use tobacco is, many people might respond doubtfully, asking: “Is it 18 years old?”
I am responsible for tobacco control on a university campus and I often point students, parents and people in neighboring communities off campus in the direction of the latest amendment to the act, which came into effect on March 22, 2023.
Despite the revisions being in place for two years, many remain unaware that smoking is not allowed on university campuses, that the legal age for smoking is 20 years old, and that vaping and electronic cigarettes are banned. Some even disbelievingly retorted: “When did the law change?”
Amendments to the act have been in effect for two years at this point, and there are still many who remain unclear on the letter of the law, including Article 16, which states that “persons under the age of 20 and pregnant women shall not smoke,” in particular.
The ministry ought to use the media to bolster its nonsmoking messaging and tack on penalties for retailers, convenience stores and betel nut stands through sting operations.
If vendors contravene the law, then the government should hit the responsible parties with fines of NT$10,000 to NT$250,000.
When we can prevent vendors from pretending that they were unaware and would do better next time when they “unwittingly” sell tobacco and betel nut products to minors, then we would have achieved our public awareness goal to decrease access.
Chen Hung-hui is a military instructor and university life resource officer.
Translated by Tim Smith
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
When a recall campaign targeting the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators was launched, something rather disturbing happened. According to reports, Hualien County Government officials visited several people to verify their signatures. Local authorities allegedly used routine or harmless reasons as an excuse to enter people’s house for investigation. The KMT launched its own recall campaigns, targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, and began to collect signatures. It has been found that some of the KMT-headed counties and cities have allegedly been mobilizing municipal machinery. In Keelung, the director of the Department of Civil Affairs used the household registration system
RSS