Health Director Dr. Lam Leads Delegation to Strengthen Cooperation at China International Fair for Trade in Services.

Director of Health visits State Administration for Market Regulation and National Institutes for Drug Control in Beijing

The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, led a delegation from the Department of Health (DH) to attend the thematic session on health and medical services at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing at the invitation of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission. The delegation also called on various regulatory authorities to deepen exchanges and co-operation in health.

The DH delegation earlier paid a visit to the National Institutes for Drug Control (NIDC) and met with Deputy Director Ms Xu Miao. They also toured the NIDC's biological products laboratory, and exchanged views with the NIDC on topics covering the strengthening of testing of biological products, research of Chinese medicine (CM) standards and testing capabilities,as well as supporting the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute in enriching its collections, with a view to jointly promoting drug safety as well as the inheritance and innovation of CM.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the NIDC for its longstanding professional guidance to, and close collaboration and exchanges with, the DH on drug and CM testing, etc. In accordance with the 2026 annual bilateral work plan between the DH and the National Medical Products Administration early this year, the NIDC organised a four-week training programme for professional officers from the DH and the Government Laboratory on biological product testing so that they can enhance technical capabilities by learning from each other to advance local testing work," said Dr Lam.

"Regarding CM, both the DH and the NIDC have been maintaining close collaborations, having signed a co-operation agreement on research for CM testing and standards in May 2024 to further advance collaborations in CM standards and testing technology innovations, and exchanges in talent and academic matters, to jointly promote the quality and safety of CM. The Outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan has promulgated the advancement of the inheritance and innovation of CM to promote its global expansion. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will proactively integrate into and contribute to the overall national development, participate in building a 'Healthy China', to showcase the HKSAR's high-quality development in CM testing technologies, thereby supporting CM in going global."

Dr Lam today (September 11) met with Deputy Director-General of the Advertising Regulation Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) Ms Luo Lan and exchanged views on enhancing surveillance on cross-boundary medical and health-related online advertisements. Dr Lam said that with the growing demand for cross-boundary healthcare services, the volume of medical and health-related advertisements and information disseminated across borders has also been increasing. He expressed his gratitude to the SAMR for its support to the HKSAR in joining hands to builda "Healthy China". The meeting yielded substantial results. Both sides agreed to strengthen co-operation by establishing a point-to-point notification mechanism, enhancing information exchanges and professional training, and jointly cracking down on fraudulent and undesirable medical advertisements to reduce the risk of residents in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong being misled or defrauded, thereby firmly safeguarding the health and well-being of people in both places.

Dr Lam will conclude his visit to Beijing and return to Hong Kong today.

Director of Health visits State Administration for Market Regulation and National Institutes for Drug Control in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Health visits State Administration for Market Regulation and National Institutes for Drug Control in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Health visits State Administration for Market Regulation and National Institutes for Drug Control in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Three incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing and dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products

Three incoming passengers were sentenced to six to seven months' imprisonment and fined $800 to $1,000, by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts yesterday (September 10) and today (September 11) for importing and dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes, failing to declare them to Customs officers, as well as importing alternative smoking products, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).

Customs officers intercepted an incoming Mainland female passenger, aged 49, and an incoming Mainland male passenger, aged 30, at Hong Kong International Airport on June 10 and seized 9 200 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 81 600 alternative smoking products, with an estimated market value of about $282,500 and a duty potential of about $30,400, from their personal baggage. The two passengers were subsequently arrested. They were respectively sentenced to seven months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000, and six-months' imprisonment with a fine of $1,000 today.

In addition,Customs officers intercepted a 56-year-old incoming Mainland male passenger at Hong Kong International Airport on September 9 and seized about 38 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 8 000 alternative smoking products, with an estimated market value of about $195,000 and a duty potential of about $125,000 from his personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with a fine of $800 yesterday.

Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences.

Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Under the IEO, any person who imports an alternative smoking product into Hong Kong commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Three incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing and dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Three incoming passengers convicted and jailed for importing and dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking products Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases