The Ministry of Health held a meeting in Hanoi on May 30, talking to the public about the hazards of smoking and calling for an increase in taxes on cigarette consumption. Tobacco use annually accounts for around six million adult deaths, 10% of the total deaths, which can be avoided if people would just say no to tobacco, the ministry announced.
These unnecessary deaths are most likely to rise to over 8 million by 2030 if timely preventative measures are not taken, it added.
The national strategy on tobacco harm control and prevention aims to reduce the male smoking rate to 39% by 2020 from 47.4% at present. Therefore, Vietnam sets a target of increasing the special consumption tax for tobacco from 65% at present to 105% by 2015.
