Protesters on Wednesday gathered outside the legislature to demand that cigarettes be made illegal, after health risk assessments were only conducted on heated tobacco products (HTPs) for the latest changes to tobacco law.
To mark World No-Tobacco Day, which is held every May 31, New Taipei City Volunteer Parents’ Association president Ho Jou-ping (何若萍) led a group of advocates in a demonstration outside of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) was amended earlier this year, but the changes only applied to HTPs and vapes, not traditional paper cigarettes, Ho said.
Photo copied by Wang Kuan-jen, Taipei Times
Health risk assessments were also only conducted on HTPs, with most paper cigarettes not needing to undergo a review, she added.
Paper cigarettes are easy to get everywhere in Taiwan, yet they pose a serious danger to public health, she said.
Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, leading the WHO to classify it as one of the worst sources of air pollution, Ho said.
She suggested that Taiwan follow New Zealand’s example and ban cigarettes.
“If New Zealand can do it, why can’t Taiwan?” she asked.
Starting this year, no one born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, can purchase tobacco products in New Zealand in a bid to phase out smoking over time.
If a ban is impossible, Ho said the government should at least require cigarette products to undergo health risk assessments as a prerequisite for their sale, she said.
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