Department of Health Reviews Over 150,000 Advertisements and Issues 1,600 Warning Letters
Start here
On 21 October 2026, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau set out the position on regulating medical advertisements, through a Radio Television Hong Kong report and a Government Information Services press release. According to the report, between January 2023 and September 2026 the Department of Health reviewed more than 150,000 advertisements published in various media in Hong Kong and issued more than 1,600 warning letters over advertisements suspected of contravening the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance, 9 of which involved the promotion of medical services outside Hong Kong; all of those advertisements were removed after the letters were sent. In a written reply to the Legislative Council, Lo Chung-mau said all advertisements published in Hong Kong, whether they concern local or overseas medical services, must comply with the ordinance, and that the Department of Health has established liaison and notification mechanisms with the relevant mainland authorities to exchange information on irregularities in cross-border medical promotion. He also said the Government will keep the ordinance's coverage and enforcement under review and will carefully balance considerations including public health, the public's right to information and the proportionality of regulation.
Generated by AI from reporting · updated 2 hours ago
Reporting timeline
Follow the reports to explore different aspects of the story.
- 政府新聞處·新聞公報立法會十一題：醫務衞生局答覆規管跨境醫療廣告
醫務衞生局局長盧寵茂書面答覆立法會，指所有在港發布的廣告不論涉及本地或境外醫療服務，均須遵守《不良廣告（醫藥）條例》。2023年1月至2026年9月，衞生署審閱超過15萬條廣告，發出超過1,600封警告信，其中九封涉及推廣境外醫療服務，相關廣告已全部移除。衞生署已與內地相關部委建立聯絡及通報機制，就跨境醫療宣傳違規情況互通信息。
- 香港電台·即時本地Lo Chung-mau: Department of Health Reviews Over 150,000 Advertisements, Issues Over 1,600 Warning Letters
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says that from January 2023 to September this year, the Department of Health reviewed more than 150,000 advertisements published in various media in Hong Kong and issued more than 1,600 warning letters over advertisements suspected of contravening the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance, 9 of which involved the promotion of overseas medical services, and all the advertisements concerned were removed after the letters were issued. The government will keep the ordinance's coverage and enforcement under review and carefully balance considerations including public health, the public's right to access information and the proportionality of regulation.
Activity over time for this story
Current activity19·Peak across comparable sources20（21 Oct, 15:00）·Change across comparable sources in 24 hours –
Trends compare the same fully observed participants, which may be fewer than the current activity total. Point or click to view hourly values; use the arrow keys with a keyboard.