Hong Kong, China: return of the butt people
- International Agency on Tobacco and Health, Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LG, UK, Tel: +44 (0)20 7387 9898, Fax: +44 (0)20 7387 9841Email: ds@iath.org
There’s something rotten in the Special Administrative Region. Having progressed from almost zero tobacco control 20 years ago to being a regional leader with a comprehensive tobacco control policy by the time it was handed back to China in 1997, Hong Kong is beginning to look decidedly vulnerable to the ever present threat of attack by the tobacco industry. Most sinister is the frequent appearance of people infamous for their previous service to the industry, in new appointments not just in government, but in the health sector.
For example, the University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty, whose department of community medicine is a world leader in research on the effects of smoking on health, has accepted free public relations services from Brenda Chow, the former Tobacco Institute chairwoman and local public affairs director of BAT. The dean of the medical faculty, Professor Lam Shiu-kum, told staff in a memo that the university had invited her to organise a series of media workshops, describing Ms Chow as a “renowned and experienced PR consultant”, but failing to mention her tobacco industry background.
And he certainly …
