The Clean Air Alliance yesterday called on the public to join a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei today against tobacco regulations that benefit cigarette manufacturers.
Police said traffic restrictions would be in place in the area.
Heated tobacco products might help reduce secondhand smoke, but they still cannot be sold legally, despite it being a full year since the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) was amended, while 14 new types of traditional paper-wrapped cigarettes have been approved for sale, the alliance said.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Department of Health
The review standards for heated and traditional cigarettes were disparate and unfair toward heated tobacco products, benefiting cigarette manufacturers, it said.
Police said that organizers had submitted a schedule showing that they are to gather at 9am, set out at 10am and finish at noon.
Traffic restrictions for Ketegalan Boulevard are to include three westbound lanes, including Zhongshan S Road to Gongyuan Road, police said.
Restrictions might be in place before the start time, depending on traffic conditions, they said.
Separately yesterday, the Taiwan Anti-smoking Alliance said that the government should step up efforts to curb online sales of electronic cigarettes and focus on stopping imports at source.
The government should curb cigarettes in schools to achieve its total ban on smoking on campuses, the group said.
A rule requiring that warning labels cover 50 percent of cigarette packaging, which took effect today, is an improvement, but more work is needed, as Taiwan only ranks 16th in the world in terms of warning label coverage, down from fourth previously, it said.
National Alliance of Presidents of Parents’ Associations deputy director-general Chiao Hui-fang (焦惠芳) said that regulations for heated tobacco products fail to ban the 10 most popular flavors, showing that the rules do not meet global standards.
Common Good Association secretary-general Chang Wen-chang (張文昌) said that few venues have complied with the amended act’s demand that restaurants, bars and nightclubs ban smoking entirely.
The government must reinforce the policy, Chang said.
Taiwan Medical Alliance for the Control of Tobacco secretary-general Kuo Fei-jan (郭斐然) said there is evidence that transitioning from traditional to heated products does not mitigate health risks.
Action Alliance on Basic Education chairman Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽) said that heated tobacco products are not authorized in Taiwan and urged the government to increase penalties for distributors that promote such products.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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