HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Angus Forsyth, Angus Forsyth & Co
Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance prohibits publishing or causing to be published any advertisement likely to lead to the use of any medi- cine, surgical appliance or treatment for certain speci - fied disease or condition but shall not apply to any advertisement published by or with the authority of the Director of Health or to an advertisement duly author - ised by an officer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for dissemination only amongst members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance further prohibits advertisements relating to certain orally consumed products, with further provision that the sale or supply, or offer or exposure for sale or supply, of an orally consumed product in a labelled container or package shall constitute the publication of an advertisement. This Ordinance provides that: • no person shall in any manner write, print, or pub - lish or cause to be written, printed or published any advertisement offering to procure miscarriage of women, the procuration of miscarriage of women, or inviting or inducing the procuration of miscar - riage of women; and • where any such advertisement gives the name, address or telephone number of, or indicates some other means of contacting, a person who manufac - tures or supplies medicine or surgical appliances or any treatment, that person is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have caused the advertise - ment to be published. The Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance prohibits any person from publishing or causing to be published any advertisement likely to lead to the use of any medicine, surgical appliance or treatment for treating human beings in purposes specified in the schedule to that Ordinance or offering to procure a miscarriage of women or canvassing or inviting or inducing the procuration of miscarriage of women.
The Smoking Ordinance further prohibits the exhibi - tion of a smoking product advertisement by film. The Smoking Ordinance goes further than other Hong Kong legislation in expressly stating that no person shall place or cause to be placed a tobacco adver - tisement or a smoking product advertisement on the internet, further providing that the holder of a Public Non-Exclusive Telecommunications Service Licence granted under the Telecommunications Ordinance shall not be responsible for content placed on the internet by a user unless that licensee has knowledge of the content and can reasonably be expected to block the use of such content or require amendment of such content or where access is provided by the licence holder to such content using automatic and temporary storage thereof by the licence holder due to the request of a user. Under the Smoking Ordinance, no person shall pro - mote or advertise any cigarette, cigarette tobacco, cigar or pipe tobacco defined as “conventional smok - ing products” to any person under the age of 18 years. This prohibition is applicable to conventional smoking products being made available by way of a token or as a prize in any event or competition with other related prohibitive measures. It is further provided that no person may either manu - facture or sell or offer for sale or carry out various other acts in relation to an alternative smoking prod - uct or give an alternative smoking product to another person for promotion or advertisement or in exchange for a token or as a prize in any event or competition. Any reference to the acts prohibited in respect of alter - native smoking products confirms that that act is a promotion or advertisement in relation to a product if that act is a promotion or advertisement as an induce - ment to smoke, or encourage the use of, the product, whether or not the particular brand is mentioned. Reference in this restriction and prohibition to the sale of an alternative smoking product includes the sale of any product that includes, or is accompanied by, an alternative smoking product as a gift; but it is further provided that the reference does not include the sale of the product with a view to its export.
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