Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Health noted that while the adult smoking rate has decreased significantly, the smoking rate among men is still high. The National Assembly has passed new regulations to ban the use of vapes and heated cigarettes from 2025, requiring the government to widely publicize and cooperate with multiple departments to ensure the effective implementation of laws and regulations.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health
According to Baovanhoan, reported on December 7. Vietnam’s Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Soon (Trần VVN Thuấn) introduced the effects and challenges of the Law on Tobacco Harm Prohibition at a meeting since it was enacted in 2012.
The minister noted that although the rate of active smoking among Vietnamese adults has decreased significantly over the past 12 years, the decline has been relatively slow. The current smoking rate among male adults, 41.1%, remains one of the highest in the world.
Multiple Departments to Collaborate on E-Cigarette Ban
Earlier, Vietnam’s National Assembly will implement new regulations in 2025 to ban vapes and heated cigarettes. Congress asked the administration to push for specific provisions to be implemented and widely publicized to raise public awareness about alcohol, vapes, and heated cigarettes.
At this meeting, participants discussed the current difficulties and proposed a series of solutions. Nguyễn Huy Quang, former director general of the Ministry of Health’s Legal Affairs Department, needs to stress that to effectively implement the Parliament’s cigarette ban, the Ministry of Health needs to be the lead department, working with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice and other departments to ensure that the decision can be effectively implemented.
In addition, the Ministry of Health should continue to collect international experience, study the impact of vapes on public health, and make corresponding policy recommendations. The application of information technology will be upgraded nationwide to detect and deal with illegal operations in the implementation of the smoking ban law and promoted nationwide. The Ministry of Health should make recommendations to the government, requiring relevant departments to take appropriate actions by their responsibilities such as strengthening market supervision and comprehensive inspection.
In the field of education, the Ministry of Education should urge schools to assess the actual situation of students using vapes and take reasonable measures to intervene. The Ministry of Public Security will strengthen its crackdown on illegal trade and strictly crack down on vape brands that contain drugs.
