The habit of consuming much alcohol leaves severe consequences to be fixed, with the treatment of six common types of alcohol-related cancer in Vietnam already costing some VND26 trillion (US$1.118 billion), or 0.25% of the country’s GDP in 2017, VnExpress reported.
Vietnamese people consume nearly 4.1 billion liters of beer in 2017. Photo: VNE
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According to calculations of the World Health Organization (WHO), economic losses caused by alcoholic consumption in a country are equivalent to 1.3-3.3% of its GDP. As such, the consumption of alcoholic drinks costs Vietnam at least VND65 trillion (roughly US$2.8 billion).
VnExpress quoted Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son as saying that the use of alcoholic drinks is increasing rapidly. The consumption of alcohol in the country averages 6.6 liters per capita per year. In 2017, Vietnam consumed 305 million liters of wine (equivalent to 72 million liters of alcohol) and 4.1 billion liters of beer (equivalent to 161 million liters of alcohol). The per-capita consumption is forecast to reach 7 liters per year by 2025.
Alcohol use is the direct cause of more than 30 types of non-communicable diseases and nearly 200 other diseases, being the third largest cause of premature death and disability in the world, Son stressed.
The use of alcohol caused nearly 80,000 deaths in Vietnam in 2016 and hundreds of thousands to be hospitalized. About 15% of the beds in mental hospitals are for Vietnamese people with psychosis due to alcohol.
Dr. Kidong Park, WHO representative to Vietnam, has expressed his concern about the use of alcohol in Vietnam. The investigation for the risk of infectious diseases in 2015 showed that 44% of people drinking alcohol in Vietnam are at "transitional and dangerous" level.
The WHO added that a country will benefit of US$9.13 from every one dollar spent on effective measures to prevent harm from alcohol use.
The WHO last year sent a letter to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recommending control of alcohol.
Given the alarming increase of alcohol use in Vietnam and its adverse effects, the Ministry of Health is refining a draft law on preventing harm of beer and alcohol. The draft law has been submitted to the National Assembly for review and is expected to be subjected to further debate at the upcoming sitting due to start in May.
In the draft law, the Ministry of Health proposes options for banning alcohol sales and advertising, the age allowed to trade alcohol.
