Key Points:
·The WHO Western Pacific Regional Director recently presented the WHO Global Award to Vietnamese Minister of Health, Đào Hồng Lan.
·Tax reforms under the revised 2025 Special Consumption Tax Law will enable 2.1 million people in Vietnam to quit or not start smoking by 2031.
·This policy will also generate an additional VND24 trillion (approximately US$910 million) in national revenue annually.
2Firsts, September 28, 2025 - According to the official website of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MOH) on September 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in Vietnam that new modeling results show that the country's recent tobacco tax reforms have brought health and economic benefits. The WHO Western Pacific Regional Director, Dr. Saia Ma'u Piukala, recently presented the WHO Global Award to Vietnamese Minister of Health, Đào Hồng Lan.
WHO modeling predicts that the tax reforms in the revised 2025 Special Excise Tax Law will enable 2.1 million people in Vietnam to quit or not start smoking by 2031, and will prevent 700,000 premature deaths over the next few decades. The policy will also generate an additional VND24 trillion (US$910 million) in state revenue annually while limiting access to cheaper tobacco brands for young people.
The release of these figures comes as the WHO, at the Fourth High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Non-communicable Diseases, called for strong measures to reduce leading global causes of death such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease.
At a side event at the UN conference, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that "health taxes are a win-win solution: they not only prevent disease by reducing the consumption of harmful products, but also generate revenue to support countries' reinvestment in health and development."
Over the past decade, approximately one-quarter of WHO member states have increased tobacco taxes, raising the effective price of tobacco by at least 50%. Dr. Tedros thanked those who are committed to implementing tax policies to protect public health, strengthen domestic finances, and advance the Sustainable Development Goals. In June, Dr. Tedros also congratulated Vietnam on its tobacco tax reforms.
Dr. Angela Pratt, WHO Representative to Vietnam, said Vietnam's decision to reform tobacco taxes is a crucial step in reducing the country's still-high smoking rates, particularly among men, and protecting future generations from the harms of tobacco. She also commended Vietnam for the tobacco tax reform bill passed in June 2025, which introduced a fixed excise tax and set annual tax increases from 2027 to 2031. These reforms aim not only to increase tobacco taxes but also to ensure long-term reductions in tobacco consumption.
