Hong Kong doctors want ban on sale of alcohol to under-18s
Doctors want a ban on the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18, and health warning labels placed on all alcohol for sale in shops
A ban on the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 should be introduced in Hong Kong to bring it into line with normal practice across the developed world, according to the city’s largest doctors’ group.
The Hong Kong Medical Association has also called for all alcohol on sale to carry health warning labels. A survey of the public they carried out showed overwhelming support for the introduction of both measures.
The association said 77 per cent of the 1,003 people polled supported the moves, adding that it was important to warn the public that there is no safe limit for alcohol – especially when it came to young people.
“For the sake of the public’s health, it is time we take this one small step to improve the current situation,” said Dr Chow Pak-chin, vice president of the Medical Association.
Public health professor Lam Tai-hing of the University of Hong Kong agreed, saying the city’s alcohol control measures were lax when compared with those in other developed countries.
The World Health Organisation says alcohol abuse kills millions worldwide and is also the third leading risk factor for poor health globally.
Most states in the United States have a legal drinking age of 21 years and in Singapore, a new liquor control act was passed last year to ban drinking in all public places and prevent shops from selling takeaway alcohol from 10.30pm to 7am.
But in Hong Kong, as well as on the mainland, there is no age limit and no law to restrict retailers from selling alcohol to minors.
The only control bars Hongkongers under 18 from drinking alcohol on premises selling liquor.
In 2008, the government removed all duty on wine and made Hong Kong a major wine importer in Asia.
“Hong Kong is one of the leading places in the world in the anti-smoking area, but its alcohol policy is very backward,” said Lam, a top tobacco-control advocate. “I would say it is a backmarker in the world.”
A spokeswoman for the Food and Health Bureau welcomed the suggestions and said its working group on alcohol and health could conduct a consultation.
But David Yau Chak-wong, from the Hong Kong General Chamber of Wine & Spirits, said the age limit for the sale of alcohol should be set at 16 as opposed to 18, as he believes people of that age are mature enough to be allowed to drink.
President of the chamber, Jo Jo So, added that there are studies that show the consumption of alcohol may be good for health.
But paediatrician Dr Chan Yee-shing, also the vice president of the association, disagreed, stressing that the harmful effects of drinking alcohol far outweigh its benefits.
