Directly-elected lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I, who chairs the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 1st Standing Committee, said yesterday that the government was considering lowering the alcohol by volume (ABV) of drinks that those under the age of 18 cannot buy.
According to the current version of a government-drafted bill on the issue, the minimum ABV stands at 1.2 percent for drinks that minors are banned from buying.
Lei made the remarks during a closed-door meeting of the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) first standing committee, which is currently reviewing a bill to ban the sale of alcohol to minors, i.e., those under the age of 18. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long and other government officials attended the meeting.
The bill is officially known as Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages.
The bill proposes that alcoholic drinks subject to the proposed sales ban will be defined as those with alcohol by volume (ABV) of 1.2 percent or over, while alcoholic beverages of any kind will be prohibited from being sold or provided to those under the age of 18 at public venues such as restaurants.
Lei said some committee members pointed out that many countries and regions even ban drinks with a minimum ABV of 0.5 percent from being sold to minors and asked if the government would adjust its proposed ABV accordingly.
Lei quoted the government as saying that the minimum ABV standard varies among countries and regions, generally ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 percent, adding that the ABV standard of 1.2 percent or over adopted by the current version of the bill is in line with the Hong Kong standard, mainly due to the Food & Beverage sector’s mode of operation and to facilitate the import of alcoholic beverages from Hong Kong and their sale in Macau.
The government officials admitted, according to Lei, that banning the sale of drinks with an ABV of 0.5 percent or over to minors would be more effective in limiting and reducing the exposure of minors to alcoholic beverages.
However, the officials also said, Lei pointed out, that as most alcoholic drinks in Macau are imported from Hong Kong, if the 0.5 percent ABV standard would be adopted in Macau, local operators would need to relabel the drinks or risk being fined. If the same ABV standard is used in Macau as the one in Hong Kong, there would be no need for the operators to relabel those drinks with an ABV of 1.2 percent or over.
Some committee members expressed their understanding of the officials’ response, Lei said, while others expected the government to consider banning sales of drinks with an ABV of 0.5 percent or over to minors.
The officials said the government would conduct further studies, but stressed that they would also consider whether the suggestion is practical, and also take into account the industry’s adaptation capability and future enforcement issues.
According to a survey conducted by the government of alcoholic drinks being sold in local supermarkets and convenience stores carried out in December last year, only three of the 50-odd beer-based alcoholic beverages on sale had an ABV of less than 1.2 percent, while most had an ABV of more than 1.2 percent.
Lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I (left), who chairs the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee, talks to reporters after yesterday’s closed-door meeting reviewing a bill to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors as the committee’s secretary, Becky Song Pek Kei, looks on. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
