Hanoi meeting marks World No Tobacco Day 2024

Addressing the meeting, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan noted that many communication campaigns have been launched nationwide to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of using tobacco products and to build a smoke-free environment.

She cited the World Health Organization saying there are more than 8 million deaths globally related to tobacco use every year.

In Vietnam, she said total costs related to medical examination and treatment, illness and premature death due to tobacco use – related diseases amount to VND108 trillion a year.

After 10 years of implementing the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, the rate of regular cigarette use among adult men has decreased by an average of 0.5% per year, from 47.4% in 2010 to 38.9% in 2023. The smoking rate among adolescents has also decreased, from 5.36% in 2013 to 2.78% in 2019 in the 13-17 year old group, and from 2.5% in 2014 to 1.9% in 2022 in the 13-15 year old group.

At the same time, the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke has also significantly decreased in public places, workplaces and households.

However, these achievements are at risk of being undone by a rapid increase in the rate of new tobacco use, mainly electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco, especially among young people, warned the minister.

She cited studies saying the rate has doubled from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023 in the 13-15 year old group.

To protect public health, she said the Prime Minister on May 24, 2023 approved the National Strategy on Tobacco Control until 2030, considering reducing the rate of tobacco use in the community an important target.

On May 13, 2024 the Prime Minister issued a telegram directing relevant ministries and agencies to strengthen measures to promptly prevent e-cigarette products and heated tobacco products nationwide.

At the meeting, Dr. Angela Pratt, WHO Chief Representative in Vietnam, underscored the importance of protecting children from the impacts of the tobacco industry. She shared her family story, saying her job is to do everything to give her daughter the best possible chance to live a long, healthy, and happy life.

She vowed to work closely alongside the Ministry of Health and other organizations to ensure that every child in Vietnam can live a long, healthy and happy life.

To do this, she called on the community to protect children against the harmful effects of conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and new tobacco products and against the tobacco industry’s advertising tactics, aimed at enticing and addicting people to use these products when they are young.

After the meeting, Minister Lan and WHO chief representative Pratt and other delegates cycled through major streets in Hanoi in response to World No Tobacco Day 2024.