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Following is a question by the Hon Ma Fung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
The Action Plan to Reduce Alcohol-related Harm in Hong Kong (Action Plan), published in October 2011 by the Working Group on Alcohol and Health (Working Group) set up by the Department of Health, made a series of recommendations on preventing and controlling alcohol-related harm. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as paragraph 3.8 of the Action Plan pointed out that there was insufficient information on the psychosocial and demographic profile of drinkers, so the existing population-based health surveys should be reinforced by including measurement of psychosocial risk factors, whether the Government conducted any health surveys covering such risk factors in the past four years; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) as paragraph 3.10 of the Action Plan mentioned that the Department of Health would obtain more useful epidemiological information on alcohol consumption when conducting the Population Health Survey in 2013-2014, and would provide the updated epidemiology on alcohol consumption by 2015, when the Government will announce such information; if it will not announce, of the reasons for that;
(3) as paragraph 3.11 of the Action Plan recommended the Government to make use of appropriate research means to monitor the pattern of alcohol consumption among the youth, whether the Government conducted any relevant research in the past four years; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) as paragraph 3.12 of the Action Plan recommended the Government to strengthen surveillance of alcohol-related harm so that the burden of alcohol-related harm could be estimated and monitored more closely and accurately, whether the Government carried out any work in this regard in the past four years; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) as paragraphs 3.36 and 3.37 of the Action Plan pointed out the absence of any age restriction on off-premise sale of alcohol in Hong Kong at present, and that local studies were limited, whether the Government has any plan to launch a feasibility study on introducing such an age restriction; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6) of the number of meetings held by the Working Group each year since its establishment in 2009, and the number of Working Group members who attended each of these meetings?
Reply:
President,
The World Health Organization has pointed out that alcohol consumption is associated with major non-communicable diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It has also reaffirmed that measures to reduce alcohol-related harm for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases should be strengthened.
Reducing alcohol-related harm likewise is an important priority action area in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases locally. In this regard, the Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (Steering Committee), chaired by the Secretary for Food and Health, set up the Working Group on Alcohol and Health (Working Group) in June 2009. Having examined scientific evidence and assessed local circumstances, the Working Group launched the Action Plan to Reduce Alcohol-related Harm in Hong Kong (Action Plan) in October 2011. The Action Plan covers five priority areas, 10 recommendations and 17 specific action items, and gives an account of the collaborative efforts to be made by different sectors in preventing and controlling alcohol-related harm. The implementation of the action items is in progress.
My reply to different parts of the question is as follows:
(1) For strengthening the surveillance of psychosocial and personal profile of drinkers, paragraph 3.9 of the Action Plan recommends the Department of Health (DH) to periodically conduct Behavioural Risk Factor Surveys (BRFS) to monitor the trend of health-related behaviours, including drinking habits, among adults aged 18-64 years. In the past four years, DH reviewed, adjusted and improved drinking-related items contained in the BRFS questionnaires in 2011, 2012 and 2014 to strengthen surveillance of drinkers' profile. Moreover, DH commissioned the Chinese University of Hong Kong to carry out research into the drinking patterns of population subgroups in Hong Kong in August 2012, in order to facilitate the development of appropriate drinking advice. The result of the research is expected to be released in the latter half of 2015. Furthermore, DH plans to conduct a knowledge-attitude-and-practice study pertaining to alcohol consumption among adults in Hong Kong in 2015. At present, research on alcohol consumption behaviours is accorded higher priority by the Health and Medical Research Fund of the Food and Health Bureau. This will generate more useful information on this research topic.
(2) Survey questions related to alcohol use have been strengthened in the preparation of the second Population Health Survey (PHS). The PHS commenced in December 2014 and the survey result is expected to be released in 2016.
(3) The Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau conducts regular surveys covering students from upper primary to post-secondary levels to collect information on the taking of alcohol, tobacco and drugs amongst adolescents. Report of "The 2011/12 Survey of Drug Use Among Students" was released by ND in March 2013. Besides, DH commissioned the University of Hong Kong in August 2012 to conduct a research on students' drinking behavior. Research findings will be released in the latter half of 2015.
(4) DH regularly collects hospital admission and mortality data related to alcohol use. The Substance Abuse Clinics (SAC) under the Hospital Authority provide clinical support including inpatient services and ambulatory care for patients addicted to alcohol. According to available information, around 9 per cent of new cases seen in the SAC had problems of alcohol abuse as their primary concern. Besides, in order to identify communal violence and injury cases associated with alcohol use, the Hong Kong Police Force will capture figures of violence relating to the use of alcohol as a case related type setting in the new version of Communal Management and Information System (CMIS). It is estimated that the CMIS will be ready by 2016. Furthermore, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) has included information related to alcohol use of the batterer/sexual abuser in the Central Information System on Spouse/Cohabitant Battering Cases and Sexual Violence Cases. The SWD will also review the items of information collected by the Child Protection Registry, including adding questions related to alcohol use.
(5) Regarding imposing age restrictions for off-premise sales of alcohol, the Government has to consider a number of factors, including the justifications for restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages to people under the prescribed age, the expected outcome of such regulation, the feasibility and urgency of regulation, as well as the impact of regulation on various sectors of the community, such as the retail industry. DH, as the secretariat of the Working Group and the Steering Committee, will continue to watch out for local evidence and give advice to the Working Group, the Steering Committee and relevant authorities to review and consider the issue as appropriate.
(6) Since its establishment, the Working Group has met five times. The attendance of each meeting is provided in the table below. After the publication of the Action Plan in October 2011, DH, being the secretariat of the Working Group and the Steering Committee as well as the executive agency, periodically collected inputs from all lead action parties on the progress of the implementation of the 17 specific action items in the Action Plan. Progress reports were compiled for circulation and endorsement by the Working Group, and subsequently reported at the Steering Committee meetings. The last Steering Committee meeting was held on September 11, 2014.
Attendance of meetings of the
Working Group on Alcohol and Health
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Meeting 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Total no. of
Working Group 16 16 16 15 15
members
No. of members
attended 14 14 11 12 12
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:35
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