Delegates attend the meeting in responding to the World No Tobacco Day
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The campaign launched for World No Tobacco Day by the WHO and its partners this year aims to demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens.
According to the WHO, the main objectives of the WNTD campaign has the objectives such as to highlight the links between the use of tobacco products, tobacco control and sustainable development, and to encourage countries to include tobacco control in their national responses to 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Statistic shows that Vietnam has a very high rate of smokers, with 47.4 percent of males above 15-year-old currently smoking, and a total of over 16 million smokers throughout the country. Vietnam is one of the 15 countries with the highest number of smokers in the world and ranks third in the ASEAN region.
The Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control took effect on May 1, 2013. After four years implementing the law, Hanoi has seen many positive changes. The Capital city has developed smoking-free restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions and popularized bad effects of tobacco use; disseminated the law to the public in order to raise awareness of the impacts of tobacco use on people’s health and the country’s sustainable development.
After the meeting, leaders of ministries, sectors, and capital city, together with nearly 2,000 Hanoi students rode bicycles on streets and participated in a flash-mob event to advocate for a non-smoking life.
The followings are some impressive images at the event:
