National week launched to raise public awareness about tobacco harm
A national no-tobacco week is being held from May 25 to 31 in response to World No Tobacco Day 2021, with a view to raising public awareness about the harmful effects of smoking.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has called on sectors, ministries, organisations, and localities to work together in organising communications activities to help cut the number of smokers in the country.
It has joined hands with ministries, sectors, socio-political organisations, and localities to step up effort% of adults in 2020 from 22.5 percent in 2015, Vietnam remains in the top 15 countries in the world with the highest rates.
The ministry said inter-sectoral cooperation is necessary to outline plans and implement measures on cutting tobacco use, while the Law on the Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms must be strictly followed.
Besides tobacco, information on waterpipe (shisha) smoking, e-cigarette vaping, and heated tobacco must be promoted in the community, it said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), around 780 million people worldwide want to quit smoking. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to millions of smokers wanting to give up for fear that the habit will increase their exposure to infection.
The WHO has recently launched a year-long global campaign for World No Tobacco Day 2021, called “Commit to Quit”. The campaign aims to help 100 million people worldwide give up smoking through various initiatives and digital solutions.
