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Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li and a reply by the Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, (in the absence of the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food), at the Legislative Council meeting today (May 9):
Question:
Quite a number of general weekly magazines published in Hong Kong carry in every edition a large quantity of full-page advertisements relating to beauty and figure improvement. Regarding the regulation of advertisements published in the print media, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that in 2004 the Broadcasting Authority (BA) strongly advised two television stations not to broadcast a certain advertisement for a height enhancing equipment because BA considered that the claim in the advertisement could not be substantiated, and that the licensees concerned had not exercised due diligence in ascertaining the truthfulness of the relevant claim, whether the publication of similar advertisements in the print media is subject to the same regulation; if not, of the reasons for that;
(b) whether there are measures to regulate the publication in the print media of print advertisements carrying contents which are related to beauty, height enhancement, body trimming and plastic surgery, etc, and involve untruthful claims; if so, of the details; and
(c) as many advertisements relating to breast augmentation are published in the above-mentioned general weekly magazines, whether the Government has studied if such advertisements are subject to the regulation under the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance; if it has conducted such a study, of the findings?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) I understand that at present we do not have a set of comprehensive legislation to regulate all types of advertisements and their contents. That said, individual ordinances and codes of practice are in place to govern advertisements in various areas or the claims made in the advertisements.
As for advertisements on television and radio, it is stipulated in the Generic Code of Practice on Television Advertising Standards and the Radio Code of Practice on Advertising Standards issued pursuant to the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance and the Broadcasting Ordinance that no advertisements may contain descriptions, claims or illustrations which depart from truth, or misleadingly claim or imply that the product or service advertised has some special features which are incapable of being established.
For print media, newspapers printed or produced in Hong Kong are required to register in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance. For books and publications printed, produced or published in Hong Kong, they are required to register under the Books Registration Ordinance. In addition, books and publications are regulated by the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance in respect of contents which are obscene and indecent.
For advertisements in general, various ordinances or codes of practice are in force to restrict the media (including the print media) from disseminating untruthful or false advertisements. For instance, the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance, the Education Ordinance, the Companies Ordinance, the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Protection of Investors Ordinance, the Securities Ordinance, the Banking Ordinance, etc. govern advertisements in respective areas, and prohibit, among others, misrepresentations in advertisements and the publication of false, misleading or deceptive advertisements. Moreover, the Trade Descriptions Ordinance regulates those descriptions in advertisements of goods that fall within its definition of "trade description", including method of manufacture, composition, testing results, fitness for purpose, strength, etc. False claims are prohibited.
As regards codes of practice, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Hong Kong has formulated a set of code of practice to regulate the advertisements produced by its members. The code of practice requires that advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. The Consumer Council also published two sets of Good Corporate Citizen's Guide in 2005 and 2006 respectively, which, among other things, remind enterprises of the need to ensure that their promotional materials and advertisements are truthful, unbiased and sensible, without any misleading elements, and in compliance with the requirements stipulated in the related legislation or rules so that consumers can make informed decisions of whether to make purchases. In addition, the Beauty Industry Code of Practice, drawn up by the Consumer Council to assist the beauty industry, put forward a number of recommendations regarding advertisements issued by the industry. This is to encourage the industry to exercise self-regulation and place legal, decent, honest and truthful advertisements.
(b) Advertisements, including those in the print media, are regulated by the aforementioned ordinances and codes of practice. Disseminating consumer information is an important aspect in protecting consumers from untruthful claims in advertisements. Informed consumers are more vigilant against improper sales tactics. Since its establishment, the Consumer Council has been performing its statutory functions under the Consumer Council Ordinance. It collects consumer market information from time to time, conducts investigations or tests on various products and services, and publishes its findings through press conference and its monthly magazine, CHOICE, etc. to help consumers make smart choices. From 2004 to date, the Consumer Council has issued various reports on beauty service, height enhancement, body trimming and plastic surgery in the CHOICE to provide the public with unbiased information on different aspects of such services and products, such as their quality and efficacy.
(c) The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance prohibits the advertisement of medicines, surgical appliances or treatments for prevention or treatment of certain diseases or bodily conditions as specified in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Ordinance. The purpose is to protect the public from being induced by advertisements to seek improper self-medication or treatment which may pose health or safety hazards to them as a result of delayed treatment.
As defined in the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance, "advertisement" includes any notice, poster, circular, label, wrapper or document, and any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light or sound. However, the truthfulness of claims made in the advertisement does not fall within the ambit of the Ordinance.
Schedule 2 to the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance stipulates that advertisements of any medicine, surgical appliance or treatment for the purpose of correction of deformity or the surgical alteration of a person's appearance are prohibited. For advertisements involving the surgical alteration of a person's appearance such as breast augmentation, they will be subject to the regulation of the Ordinance.
Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:55
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