HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Angus Forsyth, Angus Forsyth & Co
does not conform to the applicable regulation, that person commits an offence and is liable to a fine and to imprisonment. Any person who advertises for sale any infant formula, follow-up formula or pre-packaged food for infants and young children that is not marked or labelled in compliance with the applicable regulation commits an offence and is liable to a fine and to imprisonment. The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance prohibits advertisements being published or being caused to be published where such advertisement is likely to lead to the use of any medicine, surgical appli - ance or treatment for certain disease, or for certain orally consumed products; also prohibited are print - ing or publishing or causing to be written, printed or published any advertisement for abortion. Under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, no per - son shall print, publish or cause to be published a tobacco advertisement in any local newspaper or any printed document printed, published or distributed in Hong Kong; nor display a tobacco advertisement unless it is in or upon any premises of any manufac - turer of tobacco products or wholesaler or wholesale dealer and in any such case is not visible from out - side the premises; nor broadcast a tobacco advertise - ment by radio or visible images; nor exhibit a tobacco advertisement by film or on the internet. 10.2 Product Placement See also 3.2 Children for restrictions on advertise - ments around the time of children’s programmes. The Television Code specifically prohibits subliminal advertising by a television licensee on its television channels and in this connection “advertisement” or “advertising material” means any material that is effectively designed to advance the sale of any par - ticular product or service or to promote the interests of any organisation, commercial concern or individual in whatever way and included in the course of a pro - gramme of any product or services. All such purely commercial promotional material must be clearly dis - tinguished from the actual programme material and there are regulations limiting the time spent on adver - tisements in relation to actual programme material.
The Broadcast Codes require that the advertising of alcoholic beverages should target only an adult audi - ence. No children or adolescents shall be allowed to participate in the presentation of such advertisements which, accordingly, should not be shown in proximity to children’s programmes or programmes that in the opinion of the Communications Authority target young persons under the age of 18. 10.3 Other Products Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance The Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (the “Smoking Ordinance”) prohibits printing, publishing or causing to be published a tobacco advertisement in any local newspaper or any printed document printed, pub - lished or distributed in Hong Kong and further pro - hibits printing, publishing or causing to be published a smoking product advertisement in any local news - paper or any printed document printed, published or distributed in Hong Kong. In either case, the Smoking Ordinance provides that there is an exception for any tobacco advertisement or any smoking product advertisement in a printed pub - lication that is published for the tobacco trade or the smoking products trade or as the “in-house magazine or publication of any company engaged in that trade”. The Smoking Ordinance provides that no person shall broadcast a tobacco advertisement by transmission of sound by means of radio waves or by the transmis- sion of visual images or sound by wireless or other - wise than by wireless intended for general reception by members of the public, nor shall exhibit tobacco advertisement by film. “A tobacco advertisement” is provided to be an adver - tisement if it: • contains any express or implied inducement, sug - gestion or request to purchase or smoke ciga - rettes, cigarette tobacco, cigars or pipe tobacco; • relates to smoking in terms which are calculated, expressly or impliedly, to promote or encourage the use of cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, cigars or pipe tobacco; or
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