THE Government is considering whether to extend anti-smoking measures to more public places, according to the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Mrs Elizabeth Wong Chien Chi-lien.
However, she said laws banning smoking were not the only focus of the Government's package of measures to discourage the habit, particularly among the young.
''Emphasis has always been on public education to inform people of the health risks of smoking and to discourage them from smoking or to encourage them to quit,'' she said.
Citing information from public transport operators, Mrs Wong said from August to December last year, only one case had been referred to the police for prosecution under the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance.
RADIO Television Hongkong has paid $15,000 in legal costs to settle a dispute in which the complainant claimed the station's programmes had caused him embarrassment and damaged his reputation.
The Secretary for Recreation and Culture Mr James So Yiu-cho said the station had received two complaints of that kind, sent through the complainants' solicitors, over the past three years.
In addition, RTHK had received four complaints against its television programmes and its radio programmes for being biased or slanderous.
