Meeting in Vietnam Discusses Tobacco Prevention and Control

Regulations by 2FIRSTS.ai
Nov.24.2023
Meeting in Vietnam Discusses Tobacco Prevention and Control
Vietnam aims to enhance tobacco control efforts amid rising smoking-related deaths and economic losses, urging strict regulations on e-cigarette usage.

In recent news, according to Vietnamplus, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health's Tobacco Control Fund, organized a meeting in Hanoi on Thursday, November 23. The objective of the meeting was to enhance the dissemination capabilities for the prevention and control of tobacco hazards.

 

According to data from the Tobacco Control Fund, globally, 8 million people die from smoking each year, with around 1 million deaths attributed to passive smoking. In Vietnam, this number stands at 40,000. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the economic loss caused by tobacco worldwide amounts to a staggering $1.4 trillion annually. In Vietnam, the cost of combating the negative impacts of tobacco accounts for approximately 1% of the country's GDP.

 

According to a tobacco usage survey conducted in 2022 among teenagers aged 13 to 15, the prevalence of e-cigarette use in this age group is 3.5%, which represents a significant increase compared to the 2.6% reported in 2019.

 

Dr. Nguyên Thi Thu Huong, a leading figure in tobacco control funding, has suggested not approving pilot projects for heated tobacco, due to the rising number of young people using tobacco, particularly heated tobacco. The aim is to prevent e-cigarettes from entering the Vietnamese market under the guise of heated tobacco.

 

Meanwhile, Director Nguyen Chung Nguyen of Hanoi Bai Mai Hospital's Poison Control Center has proposed an immediate ban on the circulation of e-cigarettes in Vietnam.

 

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