The alcohol control bill was first submitted to the Vietnamese National Assembly in late 2018 and passed on June 14, 2019 with an approval rate of 84.30%.
A Vietnamese traffic police checks alcoholic concentration for a driver. Photo: TT
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The National Assembly on Friday voted in favor of banning those found with alcohol content in their blood or breath from driving.
Thus, when the law takes effect on January 1, 2020, people who drink alcohol or beer will not be allowed to drive. In this way, the proposal by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on banning people found with alcohol content in blood to drive was endorsed more widely than the previous voting. Eleven days ago, only 44.21% of the deputies agreed to the proposal.
No advertisements of alcoholic drinks from 6pm to 9pm
According to the new law, advertisement for liquor and beer on radio and television will be banned from 6pm to 9pm every day, except for sports programs of which rights to broadcast were secured by spirits businesses and other cases as stipulated by the Vietnamese government.
Many other regulations have also been drafted in tougher terms such as banning spirits firms from sponsoring social activities; prohibiting persons aged under 18 from directly producing, trading, and advertising alcohol and beer; and disallowing drinking alcoholic beverages at workplace.
No advertisements of wine with alcohol percentage content of 15% and over
The law prohibits advertisements and promotions of wine with alcoholic percentage of 15% or more. Besides, to be eligible to sell alcohol online, in addition to comply with the law on e-commerce and regulations on food quality and safety, sellers must not sell alcoholic beverages to people under 18.
According to the Vietnamese government’s reports, alcoholic beverages, especially beer, are widely consumed in Vietnam. Data from the Ministry of Health shows 305 million liters of liquor and 4.1 billion liters of beer were consumed in 2017, making Vietnam the biggest alcohol market in Southeast Asia and the third biggest in Asia after Japan and China.
