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May 27, 2016 / 17:18

Vietnam strengthens raising the awareness about the harms of tobacco smoking

In the response to the World No Tobacco, May 31, Vietnam organised a No Tobacco Week from May 25-31 to continue raising the awareness about the harms of tobacco smoking and reinforcing the enforcement of the Law of Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.

According to recent survey in 2015, the rates of passive smoking both at home and workplaces in Vietnam reduced from 73.1% and 55.9% in 2010 to 59.9% and 42.6% last year, respectively.
The survey is jointly implemented by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Vietnam’s General Statistics Office and the Hanoi University of Medicine.
The survey pointed out the rate of people exposed to tobacco smoke at schools decreased from 22.3% to 16.1% during the period while the exposure rate in public transportation means fell from 34.4 % to 19.4 %.
The rate of smoking among the 13-15 age group decreased from 3.3% in 2007 to 2.5% in 2014, with 90% of the young smokers expressing intention to stop.

 
Photo for illustration.
Photo for illustration.
Director of the Fund for Tobacco Harms Prevention Luong Ngoc Khue said that the positive trend has reflected specific efforts by the fund and ministries, agencies and local authorities.
Thank to the fund’s advice, 40 out of 63 labour federations of provinces and cities across the country have signed commitments with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour on building a no-smoking working environment.
As of the end of last year, 90% of grassroots trade unions have carried out solutions towards a smoke-free working environment.
Besides, all hospitals under the direct management of the Health Ministry have established steering committees on tobacco harm prevention. As of November 2015, 92% of provincial Health Departments and trade unions in the health service also signed commitments to a no-smoking environment in hospitals.
However, Vietnam is still among 15 countries with the highest male smoking rate, at 47.4%. The total number of smokers in the country is 15.3 million, while 33 million non-smokers are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke at home and five million adults suffer from passive smoking in the workplace.
The WHO reported that around 40,000 people in Vietnam die from smoking-related diseases each year. Passive smokers, particularly children, also face high risks of diseases.
To respond to the World No Tobacco (May 31), Vietnam has launched a No Tobacco Week from May 25-31 to continue raising the awareness of both managerial agencies and society as a whole about the harms of tobacco smoking and reinforcing the enforcement of the Law of Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.
This year's World No Tobacco Day (May 31), themed “Get ready for plain packaging", aims to reduce the attractiveness of tobacco products.
Australia became the first country to adopt plain packaging for tobacco products in December 2012. Ireland became the second country to enforce the practice in March this year.