Tobacco.org

• No smoking rule enforced 

The third Asian Indoor Games (AIG), to be held in Viet Nam next Thursday, will be a non-smoking Games.

The events' organising board and World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Viet Nam branch office signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the capital yesterday to make this AIG the third one to be non-smoking.

Organisers and the WHO have agreed that cigarette smoking and sports do not belong together; tobacco in any form is not allowed at the events.

No smoking at the event is in alignment with government regulations banning of smoking in public places. Tobacco advertisements and tobacco company sponsors are also not allowed at the events.

Jump to full article »

• VIETNAM: Anti-Smoking Drive Fails to Curb Male Tobacco Abuse 

In Vietnamese tobacco is called 'thouc la', which means 'medicinal leaves'. Given a reported 40,000 die each year from lung cancer, it is not the most apposite name. . . .

Huong typifies the male-smoking population of Vietnam, considered one of the biggest in the world: 56 percent of the country's estimated 86 million population. The figure could be higher, said health officials who spoke with IPS. China, Malaysia and Laos all record higher figures, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"It's a huge burden to the health system," Dr Nguyen Tuan Lam of the Tobacco Free Initiative of WHO told IPS in a telephone interview. He believes the official number of lung cancer deaths is massively underreported, saying it could be closer to 70,000. Compare this figure with the incidence of traffic accidents, often called a "hidden epidemic" in the motorcycle-riding South-east Asian country, which accounted for a comparatively lower 12,000 deaths in 2008.

Compared to men, there are extremely few female smokers in Vietnam. In fact, the communist nation has one of the lowest female smoking rates in the world at 2.1 percent of the population.

"The attitude here is that only naughty girls smoke. It's not ladylike and it's not nice," said Lam.

Since Vietnam ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in December 2004, it has banned all forms of advertising, increased taxes on cigarettes and last year added larger warning labels to packaging.

In late August government announced that starting Jan. 1, 2010, smoking would be prohibited in public places

Jump to full article »

• Northern tourist city to ban smoking 

Northern tourist town Ha Long City will tell its smokers to butt out, particularly in public areas. Ha Long will become the country’s second smoke-free city thanks to a project launched on September 26 by U.S.-based Campaign for Tobacco - Free Kids in the city.

Ha Long, in northern Quang Ninh Province, is home to UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay, one of the major tourist destinations in northern Vietnam.

The US$284,500 project is being run by the U.S. organization and the Vietnam Union of Sciences and Technology Associations

Jump to full article »

Media central to plan to end smoking  

The mass media has a vital role to play in making the programme for a Smoke-Free Viet Nam effective, experts said at a workshop last Saturday.

Around 50 reporters from various publications in the country attended the media awareness workshop organised by the Tobacco Control Programme of the Viet Nam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health and the American Cancer Society.

Experts from the US and the Philippines shared experiences on writing news and stories that can draw the attention of readers and improve awareness and understanding of influences of smoking.

Truong Trong Hoang, director of the city's health education and communication centre, said that the media should continuously work to improve public awareness and encourage people to protect their own health and that of their families.

Jump to full article »

The leading players in Vietnamese tobacco market include Vinataba, British American Tobacco Plc and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc 

This databook provides key data and information on the tobacco market in Vietnam. This report is a comprehensive resource for market, category and segment level data including value, volume, distribution share and company & brand share. This report also provides expenditure and consumption data for the historic and forecast periods.

Jump to full article »

Vietnam’s efforts in tobacco control praised  

Co-President of the Global Smoke-free Partnership, E. Ulysses Dorotheo, praised Vietnam’s efforts in tobacco control at a seminar held in Hanoi on September 15- 16.

The seminar, entitled “For a Tobacco-free Vietnam”, was co-organised by the Health Ministry and the American Cancer Society for the media to exchange experiences in communications works on smoking.

Dorotheo also expressed his fine impression about the warnings of smoking dangers on tobacco packaging in Vietnam, which are printed in large letters. However, Vietnam is one of countries in the world with the highest rate of male smokers (56 percent).

Jump to full article »

Smoking in public places to be banned  

HA NOI -- The country has taken a step towards making public places a healthier place with the approval by the Prime Minister of a stricter plan to ban and control smoking in public places by 2010.

The Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the Tobacco Control Programme of the Viet Nam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health, created the plan.

Under Decision No1315/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister, regulations will be imposed to reduce the demand and supply of tobacco products consumed in the country with regulations coming into effect by 2010.

Starting January 1 next year, smoking will be banned at schools, kindergartens, factories, cinemas, theatres, culture houses, production units and many indoor public places.

The implementation plan will concentrate on raising taxes on imported tobacco products and increase the price of domestic cigarettes, as well as enforcing stricter controls on where tobacco products can be sold and to whom.

Jump to full article »

Vietnam to ban smoking in indoor public places 

Vietnam will ban smoking in indoor public places next year and raise tobacco taxes to curb demand for cigarettes, the government said in a statement seen on Tuesday.

Smoking will be illegal in schools, kindergartens, cinemas, office buildings and on public transport, said a statement posted on the government's website.

The statement did not say whether indoor restaurants would be included in the ban, which will take effect on January 1.

Jump to full article »

Vietnam to Curb Smoking, Raise Tobacco Tax  

Vietnam will ban smoking in all indoor public places next year and raise tariffs on tobacco products to reduce consumption, the government said.

Starting from January 1, smoking in schools, hospitals, libraries, cinemas, factories, offices and on public transport will be prohibited, a government statement seen on Tuesday said.

The ban will extend to all indoor public spaces by the end of 2010, the statement said, adding the government also plans to apply "high tariff levels" on tobacco products next year to cut consumption.

Jump to full article »

Vietnam to ban smoking inside public places next year  

Smoking will be banned at indoor public places in 2010 as part of a national plan to reduce smoking.

The cigarette ban will include classrooms, healthcare facilities, libraries, theaters, cultural centers and indoor workplaces, starting January 1.

Under the plan, higher taxes will be imposed

Jump to full article »

Airline passengers to be fined more for smoking  

Airline passengers will be fined up to VND5 million (US$292) for smoking onboard, according to the latest draft decree announced by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.

If passed, the new legislation would reflect a fine increase of five times the current figure. At present, passengers are fined VND200,000-1 million ($12-58) if caught smoking onboard an aircraft.

Jump to full article »

Me Linh, Hanoi cabs to ban smoking  

Two taxi firms in Hanoi will be the first to operate “taxi routes without tobacco smoke” from the middle of this month, according to Canadian NGO, Health Bridge.

Drivers and passengers will be banned from smoking in Ha Noi and Me Linh taxis. Drivers will be trained how to refuse when they are invited to smoke and to persuade passengers not to smoke.

Jump to full article »

Five deaths every hour attributed to tobacco use in Vietnam: WHO 

In Vietnam, tobacco use is responsible for 5 deaths every hour. That is 40,000 deaths each year, four times the number of people that die on the country’s roads each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The organisation on May 29 called on governments to use graphic pictures on tobacco products to show the frightening physical results of smoking.

The tobacco industry invest a large sum of money on designing attractive packages that makes a deadly product look safe and appealing. They also spend millions of dollars on advertising and promotional campaigns to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products and to lure new users and keep them from quitting.

To counter that effect, packets should show shocking photos of lung tumours, blood clots in the brain and decaying gums.

Jump to full article »

National Non-Smoking Week to raise public awareness 

A national non-smoking week from May 25-31is held in response to World No-Tobacco Day on May 31.

Many activities, including a ban on smoking in public places and offices, will take place, according to Dr Ly Ngoc Kinh, director of the Ministry of Health's Medical Treatment Department, who spoke at a press meeting in Ha Noi on Monday.

He said meetings and demonstrations about the dangers of smoking would also be held along city streets.

Smoking is a serious health problem in Viet Nam, with 56 per cent of men smoking, one of the world's highest rates, according to Kinh.

Jump to full article »

Around 40,000 Vietnamese die of cigarettes a year 

As one of the countries with the most male smokers, the number of cigarette-related deaths in Vietnam is four-fold the number of casualties from traffic accidents.

The Health Ministry’s Health Treatment and Examination Agency chief Ly Ngoc Kinh talked about the situation.

Government Decree 45 issued in 2005 stipulates a 50,000-100,000 dong fine for smoking in public sites. But it seems that this regulation is ineffective. What do you think about it?

It is impossible to implement this rule. We don’t lack regulations or sanctions on smoking, issued by the government and the Health Ministry, but they cannot be implemented effectively.

Not only in this field, in other areas people don’t obey the rules. . . .

Cigarette producers say that it is costly or they don’t have suitable technology to print warnings with images. But exported cigarette products have warnings with images. We will try to enforce this in 2010.

Jump to full article »