Images of stained teeth and charred lungs on cigarette packages from Friday have to cover at least 50 percent of the pack, up from 35 percent, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The new rules are to take effect following the expiration of a one-year transition since the Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) was implemented.
Cigarette manufacturers that contravene the rules face a fine of up to NT$5 million (US$156,897), while those selling improperly labeled cigarettes face a maximum fine of NT$50,000, the act says.
Photo: CNA Warning: Smoking can damage your health
HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said that while the WHO recommends that pictorial health warnings cover at least 30 percent of cigarette packages, 122 countries and territories require warnings covering at least 50 percent.
In the run-up to the new rules taking effect, HPA officials have traveled throughout Taiwan to promote the policy, particularly at shops run by older people, who might not be aware of the changes, Tobacco Control Division head Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said.
People can report contraventions of labeling rules to their local health department or by calling the HPA’s toll-free tobacco control hotline on 0800-531-531, Lo said.
Data released by the HPA last year showed that 14 percent of people over 18, or those who are legally allowed to smoke, had used tobacco products as of 2022, down from 21.9 percent in 2008.
Broken down by sex, 24.4 percent were men and 3.7 percent women, the data showed.
Broken down by age, 5.8 percent of people aged 18 to 29 were smoker, 13.6 percent of 30 to 39-year-olds, 15.3 percent of 40 to 49-year-olds, 12 percent of 50 to 64-year-olds and 6.6 percent of people aged 65 or older, the data showed.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
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