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Following is a speech by Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E K Yeoh,at the Opening of Smoking Cessation Health Centre today (January 9):

Professor Hedley, honourable guests, ladies, and gentlemen,

It is my honour today to have been invited to officiate at the Grand Opening of the Smoking Cessation Health Centre, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong.

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death in the world and in Hong Kong. In 1999, the Hospital Authority spent over $800 million in treating patients with smoking-related diseases. While tobacco control legislation, public education and health promotion are vital means for containing the proliferation of this epidemic, it is equally important that we have in place effective smoking cessation programs to help those who have made up their mind to quit. International data have, time and again, confirmed that helping people quit smoking can yield significant health and economic benefits to the community.

The establishment of this Cessation Centre is an important milestone for Hong Kong in the provision of a coordinated smoking cessation program through joint efforts of different institutions. The success of this pilot project will set a good example for other similar services to model after. The experience, knowledge and skills gained from the operation of the Centre will be of much reference value for other cessation centers coming on stream.

I am delighted to hear that since its operation in August of last year, the Centre has provided services to over 400 smokers. I certainly hope that with words of mouth over time, more smokers will be aware of the existence of the Centre and make use of its services. I suspect that there are plenty of smokers out there who want to quit very badly, but do not know where to look for assistance. What we need is an establishment, staffed by trained personnel, adequately-funded and well-publicized, that can provide user-friendly cessation services in a sustainable manner to smokers. On this note, I am glad to announce that an allocated sum of $2 million has been just approved to COSH (Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health) for carrying out cessation-related activities in the coming 3 years. I trust this will be an added impetus in furthering the capacity building and provision of cessation services in Hong Kong.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those who have devoted their time and energy in making this pilot project a success. Thank you.

End/Tuesday, January 9, 2001

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