Vietnam Takes Steps to Enhance Tobacco Control Efforts
The Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Control Fund, recently organized a meeting in Hanoi to address the prevention and control of tobacco hazards. The objective of the meeting was to improve dissemination capabilities in this regard.
According to data from the Tobacco Control Fund, smoking claims the lives of 8 million people globally each year, with approximately 1 million of these deaths resulting from passive smoking. In Vietnam alone, the number of tobacco-related deaths stands at 40,000 annually. Shockingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco causes an economic loss of $1.4 trillion on a global scale. In Vietnam, combating the negative impacts of tobacco accounts for around 1% of the country’s GDP.
A survey conducted in 2022 among teenagers aged 13 to 15 revealed that the prevalence of e-cigarette use in this age group has risen to 3.5%, a notable increase compared to the 2.6% reported in 2019.
To combat the rising numbers of youth using tobacco, especially heated tobacco products, Dr. Nguyên Thi Thu Huong, a prominent figure in tobacco control funding, has suggested refraining from approving pilot projects for heated tobacco. The aim is to prevent the introduction of e-cigarettes into the Vietnamese market under the guise of heated tobacco.
In the same vein, Director Nguyen Chung Nguyen of Hanoi Bai Mai Hospital’s Poison Control Center has proposed an immediate ban on e-cigarettes in Vietnam.
It is vital to prioritize tobacco control efforts in order to protect public health and mitigate the negative consequences associated with smoking. Vietnam is taking proactive steps towards achieving this goal, and further measures are expected to be implemented in the near future.
