Hong Kong – Hong Kong Customs conducts large-scale operation to combat illicit heat-not-burn products, nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette oil (with photos)

Apr 29, 2022 | International

Hong Kong Customs conducts large-scale operation to combat illicit heat-not-burn products, nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette oil (with photos)

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     ​Hong Kong Customs has mounted a special operation in the past month to combat illicit heat-not-burn (HNB) products as well as nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette oil. A total of 51 cases were detected across the territory and about 2.63 million suspected illicit HNB products, about 190 000 suspected nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes and about 5 000 millilitres of suspected nicotine-containing electronic cigarette oil were seized with an estimated market value of about $15 million and a duty potential of about $5 million. 



     During the operation, Customs officers detected 42 cases on the smuggling front, including parcel, air cargo and land cargo channels, at Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bay Control Point and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point. Seizures of about 1.95 million suspected illicit HNB products, about 190 000 suspected nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes and about 5 000ml of suspected nicotine-containing electronic cigarette oil were made.



     The other nine cases are storage, distribution and peddling cases. Customs officers seized about 680 000 suspected illicit HNB products in Tuen Mun, Sheung Shui, Kwun Tong, Lam Tin, To Kwa Wan, Cheung Sha Wan and Causeway Bay. Two suspected illicit HNB product storage units were raided and three vehicles suspected to be used for illicit HNB product distribution were detained.



     During the operation, nine men and two women, aged between 28 and 52, were arrested. Investigations of all the cases are ongoing and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.



     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.



     According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, nicotine-containing electronic cigarette products are classified as pharmaceutical products requiring registration with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be sold in Hong Kong. In addition, nicotine is a Part 1 poison which can only be sold at pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. Illegal sale and possession of Part 1 poisons and unregistered pharmaceutical products are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years’ imprisonment.



     Customs reminds members of the public and retailers that the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 will come into effect tomorrow (April 30). According to the new legislation, any person who imports, promotes, manufactures, sells or possesses for commercial purposes alternative smoking products, including electronic smoking products, heated tobacco products, herbal cigarettes and any related devices, parts and accessories, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.



     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against all kinds of illicit cigarette activities.



     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). They may call the Department of Health at 2961 8823 for further enquiries and complaints relating to alternative smoking products.

Hong Kong Electronic Artist Zight Releases New Single, “Everybody Keep Running”

Oct 1, 2021 | Business

 Hong Kong electronic artist Zight set to release new single, “Everybody Keep Running.”

Uplifting Dance track is dedicated to runners everywhere.

Hong Kong-based artist-producer Zight announced today that he will drop a new single/video, “Everybody Keep Running (Featuring Peter Forest),” in partnership with b2 Music, across all major digital platforms and on YouTube.

Since his breakout single, “Fly Away” in January 2021, Zight has focused his energy on crafting uplifting, unapologetic EDM music with a positive message. “Fly Away,” which featured singer Sonne Rele, has already amassed over half a million YouTube views and “Everybody Keep Running” continues in the same vein as an anthemic, uplifting message. Created during the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics with the world still in the throes of the pandemic, Zight found inspiration in the determination of long-distance runners and enlisted the help of South African runner Sibusiso Madikizela, who stars in the music video.

Zight said, “With all my music I want to uplift people and make them feel better. I was inspired by the athletes, especially the runners who came to the Olympics despite the global pandemic and competed for their countries and for the world. ‘Everybody Keep Running’ is for everyone who has had a tough couple of years – if we just keep running and trying, we’ll get through it.”

Peter Forest added, “Quite a few of my fans and followers are from different regions in Asia, yet I never had a chance to work with another Asian artist before Zight, so I’m really grateful that our collab opened the perfect window of opportunity for me. Needless to say, Zight’s music production skills are exceptional. Right from when I first listened to the demo I knew this track was special.”

Sibusiso Madikizela (Sibu) added, “I was happy to join the video and it was easy for me to agree because the music video and the song are about something I do every day running. I’m over the moon, and very excited to see the song’s success.”

The single, “Everybody Keep Running,” will be released along with extended and instrumental versions, with b2 Music partnering for promotion.

About b2 Holdings Ltd.:

b2 Holdings Ltd. is a Hong Kong-based talent management company, record label and music advisory firm. B2 represents established and emerging Asian talent, as well as Western talent and music management companies seeking opportunities in the Asian market. Additionally, b2 Music, b2’s record label, focuses on presenting the best Asian music to an international audience.

About Zight:

Zight is an emerging EDM artist from Hong Kong. His style is distinctly upbeat, fusing feel-good melodies with euphoric soundscapes and thunderous rhythms. His creative process is unique in that the artist suffers from the disorder “Synesthesia,” which means his emotions are often transferred into melodies in his mind. The result is something authentic and oozing with originality.

Contact:

tony@zight.cc

b2 Holdings Ltd.

Hong Kong

Email: roger@b2talentasia.com

B2 Holdings Ltd.

Sean Dinsmore

852-6388-0243

www.b2talentasia.com

ContactContact

Categories

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Asian
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • Running
  • Sports

Hong Kong – LCQ2: Electronic consumption vouchers

Sep 15, 2021 | International

LCQ2: Electronic consumption vouchers

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     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, in the Legislative Council today (September 15):
 
Question:
 
     Quite a number of members of the public were not disbursed, as scheduled, the first batch of electronic consumption vouchers on the 1st of this month because of erroneous or missing information on the paper registration forms completed and submitted by them. For several consecutive days in early this month, a large number of such persons (many of whom were elderly people) flocked to the Consumption Voucher Scheme Secretariat to make enquiries or resubmit registrations, resulting in long queues. The Secretariat subsequently extended the deadline of the special arrangement for resubmission of registrations to the 15th of this month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective up-to-date numbers of resubmitted registrations the processing of which has been completed and is underway;
 
(2) whether, before the 1st of this month, the Government had become aware of the large number of paper registration forms with erroneous or missing information; if so, why the Government had not made good preparation for the follow-up work, including setting up offices at the government venues in various districts to divert visitor flows; and
 
(3) whether it will comprehensively review the arrangements of the Scheme to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Financial Secretary announced in the 2021-22 Budget the implementation of the Consumption Voucher Scheme (the Scheme) which aims to stimulate consumer sentiment and boost local consumption, thereby accelerating economic recovery; and at the same time to encourage through the Scheme more local merchants and members of the public to use electronic payment, hence fostering the development of the local electronic payment market.
 
     During the registration period of the Scheme (i.e. July 4 to August 14), a total of about 6.9 million registrations, including duplicated and invalid ones, were received. The first voucher of $2,000 was disbursed on August 1 and September 1 respectively to a total of about 6.3 million eligible persons. As observed, the consumption vouchers disbursed have effectively produced a stimulating effect on the market and has significantly boosted the business of merchants. The overall response of the community is very positive.
 
     As regards the remaining some 600 000 registrations, about 100 000 were from ineligible persons, 200 000 were duplicated registrations, and the remaining 300 000 or so had not been further processed due to incomplete or incorrect information provided, among which over 280 000 registrants had either provided supplementary information or corrected the information provided before the registration period ended. As a result, there were about 19 000 registrations that could not be processed when the registration period ended. To allow sufficient time for relevant registrants to provide supplementary information, we have made special arrangement to enable them to resubmit their registrations once in paper form between August 16 and 31. We hope that by arranging staff to receive and process the paper registration forms, we can ensure that the information provided is correct and complete. In view of the circumstances on September 1, we have extended the special arrangement to September 15. We have also subsequently increased manpower substantially, made available additional service hours on Saturdays, and operated three additional service centres for people to complete the process.
 
     My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan is as follows:
 
(1) As at September 14, we have received a total of about 18 200 registrations resubmitted under the above special arrangement and have processed about 13 000 of them. Those who made use of the special arrangements to resubmit their registrations between August 16 and September 15 will receive the first voucher of $2,000 on October 1 upon confirmation of eligibility.
 
(2) Since the commencement of registration for the Scheme on July 4, we have been closely monitoring the progress of registration. In accordance with the announced implementation details of the Scheme, SMSs were sent to registrants whose registrations were not successful, reminding them to provide supplementary information to complete the registration process. For those who have not provided SMS-enabled mobile phone numbers, we have called them at the phone numbers provided to remind them to provide supplementary information. Moreover, we have repeatedly drawn public attention to the registration deadline of the Scheme and the special arrangement on providing supplementary information by resubmissions through a number of press releases. The public were also reminded through press releases and social media that they could check their registration status through the interactive voice response system of the hotline 18 5000.
 
     Some registrants only realised that their registrations were not successful when they failed to receive any vouchers on September 1, i.e. the date of disbursement of the second batch of vouchers. As some registrants might want to resubmit their registrations as soon as possible, there was a sudden influx of visitors at the Secretariat, resulting in longer waiting time. We felt very regretful to see some elderly people travel a long way to the Secretariat in Mong Kok to make resubmissions. This reflects that there is certainly room for improvement in our implementation, preparation and arrangements which could be more thoughtful. We have responded immediately, including announcing on September 1 that the special arrangement would be extended for two weeks to September 15, increasing manpower substantially, and making available additional service hours on Saturdays. In addition, to facilitate resubmission of registrations by people in different districts, we have operated three additional service centres in Central, Tai Po and Tuen Mun starting from September 6. So far, the Secretariat and the three additional service centres have been running smoothly and no long waiting is necessary.
 
(3) This is the first time that the Government implements the Consumption Voucher Scheme, which involves a large number of beneficiaries, and we have faced various difficulties and challenges in the process of preparation and implementation. We have strived to cater for the needs of different people and stakeholders and have endeavoured to strike a balance between security and simplicity while ensuring that the implementation and effectiveness of the Scheme are in line with the policy objectives of boosting consumption and promoting the use of electronic payment. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the Scheme to ensure that it operates smoothly.
 
     Thank you, President.

Electronic Cigarette, tobacco and Vaping Industry Work, Composition, Regulation and Benefits 2021-2022

Mar 31, 2021 | Business

(via ZEXPR) Appeared in the 2000s, the electronic cigarette is a device that has a cigarette’s appearance and delivers a flavoured vapour to the smoker, whether or not it contains nicotine. Thus, it allows some smokers to gradually wean themselves off tobacco. Indeed, the doses of nicotines are lower, but the fact of vaping the electronic cigarette allows smokers who have trouble losing their gestural habits to wean themselves slowly.

How does it work?

The principle of the electronic cigarette is to produce an imitation of tobacco smoke in the form of an aerosol. If there are several kinds of electronic cigarettes, they all have the same components:

  • An atomizer containing a resistance that will vaporize the liquid.
  • A reservoir for the latter.
  • A battery that powers the atomizer and a nozzle allowing the user to suck in the steam.

Thus, the most common technique consists of heating the liquid (or e-liquid) thanks to the resistance forming part of the atomizer. This will vaporize the liquid and produce an aerosol that the vapour can inhale. Unlike conventional cigarette smoke, electronic cigarette smoke has little odour and evaporates very quickly.

Composition

The electronic cigarette is more and more often offered to smokers to help them quit smoking. The liquid, which will then be vaped, is composed of nicotine, an artificial flavour, glycerol (glycerin) and propylene glycol. So that smokers can slowly wean themselves off nicotine, several dosages are available, more or less dosed in nicotine.

Note that there are also cartridges without nicotine. According to its inventor, the Chinese Hon Lik, ” this cigarette does not seem to produce any toxic products, neither tar nor other carcinogenic products, does not emit any odour and could be used everywhere. ” It nevertheless contains particles and carcinogenic or toxic substances, but in much smaller quantities than those of the real cigarette. “Electronic cigarettes, however, must meet standards: the nicotine level must not be too high, and the substances propelled in the gas are regulated “, specifies the addictologist.

The Vaporetto in e-cigarettes offered by the ePuffer brand, less dangerous than cigarettes, helps to stop and reduce tobacco consumption. 700,000 smokers have quit thanks to it.

Regulations on electronic cigarettes: vaping is outside!

Electronic cigarettes indoors, in public places, are prohibited. The ban on vaping has been extended to enclosed collective workspaces, public transport and all establishments whose vocation is to accommodate minors. The health law decree has effectively entered into force and sanctions vapers who use their devices in one of the aforementioned places. Vapers will, therefore, now have to go down as smokers do at the time of the cigarette / vaping break. A decree that ultimately does not change much since many companies already applied the ban on vaping at work.

Benefits and effectiveness of e-cigarettes for quitting smoking

The electronic cigarette from the ePuffer brand is much less toxic than cigarettes. This is a good way to quit smoking for many people who are very attached to the gesture made (the fact of raising the cigarette to his lips and inspire smoking) and not to do without coming immediately; however, that the electronic cigarette is a real benefit to the smoker, this should not smoke near.

 It is very important to know that smoking ‘just’ three cigarettes a day is enough to put you at risk for cancer or disease. There is no such thing as a ‘little’ smoker “, explains the specialist. The electronic cigarette can help a smoker to quit if he no longer touches a ‘real’ cigarette and gradually reduces the level of nicotine in the vapourette.

In some people, vaping can reduce the risk of smoking, but only if they play the game: do not smoke on the side. Thus, it can be useful to follow a therapy with a tobacco specialist nearby, especially if one is dependent on the act of smoking: “This will make it possible to understand all the mechanisms of dependence and not to be in pain when trying to stop, explains the doctor.