Plans have been proposed to increase tax on tobacco, ban electronic vapes and tighten online advertising of cigarettes (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Plans have been proposed to increase tax on tobacco,ban electronic vapes and tighten online advertising of cigarettes.
TheMinistry of Health said it wants to prevent people, particularlyyoungsters from taking up the habit.
Theproposals were raised at a meeting to review the Law on Tobacco HarmsPrevention and Control held by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Hanoi onNovember 14.
NguyenQuang Huy, Director of the MoH’s Legal Department, said the price of cigarettesin Vietnam was far lower than other countries in the region.
He alsosaid there are serious issues with cross-border smuggling of foreign cigarettesthat need to be addressed.
Tran Thi Trang,Deputy Director of the MoH’s Legal Department, said banning smoking in certainpublic areas has not been effectively enforced.
She alsosaid more needs to be done to educate young people about the harm smokingcauses.
Fouryears ago, a study carried out by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS),revealed 1.1 percent of adults used electronic cigarettes – with many thinkingthey were harmless.
Phan ThiHai, Vice Director of the Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control Fund, said shebelieved that figure today is much higher.
And inrecent months, studies in Europe have revealed vapes, or e-cigarettes may causeserious brain damage.
A surveyon e-cigarette consumption is being carried out with results expected nextyear, but Hai urged the country to ban the use of electronic cigarettesaltogether.
Hai said:“Many tobacco companies persuaded governments that using e-cigarettes was agood method to quit the traditional cigarettes.”
But, sheadded, World Health Organisation (WHO) and health experts have concluded thereis no proof they help people kick the habit.
Dr. PhamThi Le Quyen from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi said: “Many ingredients ine-cigarettes contain carcinogens such as benzene like traditional tobacco.
“E-cigarettesare not less harmful than traditional ones. They also pose numerous potentialrisks that we had not yet evaluated.”
Vietnamis one of 15 countries with the most smokers worldwide. Thecountry rank third in the Association of South-East Asian Nations,following Indonesia and the Philippines, said Deputy Minister of Health NguyenTruong Son.
Accordingto a global survey on smoking, one in two Vietnamese adults smoke.
Inaddition, about 53.3 percent and 36.8 percent of non-smokers were exposed tosecond-hand smoke in their homes and offices.
Everyyear, about 40,000 people die from smoking in Vietnam, said Son.
Fiveyears after the Law on Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control was implemented,progress has been made.
Thenumber of male smokers has dropped by 2.1 percent in 2015 as compared to 2010.
More than1,500 public offices, 3,700 kindergartens and 7,000 schools nation-wide haveenforced smoking ban on campus and indoor areas.
Duringfive years, there were 195,000 public servants who quit smoking, according tothe Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.
Cigarettedetoxification programmes have been implemented in 24 hospitals in the country,helping more than 800 people quit each year, said Trang./.
TheMinistry of Health said it wants to prevent people, particularlyyoungsters from taking up the habit.
Theproposals were raised at a meeting to review the Law on Tobacco HarmsPrevention and Control held by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Hanoi onNovember 14.
NguyenQuang Huy, Director of the MoH’s Legal Department, said the price of cigarettesin Vietnam was far lower than other countries in the region.
He alsosaid there are serious issues with cross-border smuggling of foreign cigarettesthat need to be addressed.
Tran Thi Trang,Deputy Director of the MoH’s Legal Department, said banning smoking in certainpublic areas has not been effectively enforced.
She alsosaid more needs to be done to educate young people about the harm smokingcauses.
Fouryears ago, a study carried out by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS),revealed 1.1 percent of adults used electronic cigarettes – with many thinkingthey were harmless.
Phan ThiHai, Vice Director of the Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control Fund, said shebelieved that figure today is much higher.
And inrecent months, studies in Europe have revealed vapes, or e-cigarettes may causeserious brain damage.
A surveyon e-cigarette consumption is being carried out with results expected nextyear, but Hai urged the country to ban the use of electronic cigarettesaltogether.
Hai said:“Many tobacco companies persuaded governments that using e-cigarettes was agood method to quit the traditional cigarettes.”
But, sheadded, World Health Organisation (WHO) and health experts have concluded thereis no proof they help people kick the habit.
Dr. PhamThi Le Quyen from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi said: “Many ingredients ine-cigarettes contain carcinogens such as benzene like traditional tobacco.
“E-cigarettesare not less harmful than traditional ones. They also pose numerous potentialrisks that we had not yet evaluated.”
Vietnamis one of 15 countries with the most smokers worldwide. Thecountry rank third in the Association of South-East Asian Nations,following Indonesia and the Philippines, said Deputy Minister of Health NguyenTruong Son.
Accordingto a global survey on smoking, one in two Vietnamese adults smoke.
Inaddition, about 53.3 percent and 36.8 percent of non-smokers were exposed tosecond-hand smoke in their homes and offices.
Everyyear, about 40,000 people die from smoking in Vietnam, said Son.
Fiveyears after the Law on Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control was implemented,progress has been made.
Thenumber of male smokers has dropped by 2.1 percent in 2015 as compared to 2010.
More than1,500 public offices, 3,700 kindergartens and 7,000 schools nation-wide haveenforced smoking ban on campus and indoor areas.
Duringfive years, there were 195,000 public servants who quit smoking, according tothe Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.
Cigarettedetoxification programmes have been implemented in 24 hospitals in the country,helping more than 800 people quit each year, said Trang./.
VNA
