Investigation of tobacco use status in people aged 15 and over

(QBĐT) - With the support of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (PCTHTL), the Provincial Center for Disease Control (CDC) in collaboration with the University of Public Health organized a training course on "Investigation of the current status of tobacco use among people aged 15 and over and tobacco harm prevention and control work in Quang Binh province in 2024" for the team of tobacco supervisors and investigators.

According to the PCTHTL Fund, Vietnam is still one of the 15 countries with the highest number of adult men smoking in the world . And the consequences are 25 diseases related to tobacco use, such as: Stroke, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer... are the leading causes of death in our country.

Every year, the total cost related to medical examination, treatment, illness and premature death due to diseases related to tobacco use is 108,000 billion VND.

Provincial CDC trains on "Investigation of tobacco use status in people aged 15 and over".

After 10 years of implementing the Law on Tobacco Control, Vietnam has achieved positive results, such as: The rate of regular cigarette use among adult males 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 (in the 13-17 age group, it decreased from 5.36% in 2013 to 2.78% in 2019)...

However, these achievements are at risk of being undermined by the rapid increase in the use of new generation tobacco products, mainly e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Especially among young people, in the 13-15 age group, the rate has doubled from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023.

Sharing more about the harmful effects of tobacco, Director of the Provincial CDC, Dr. Do Quoc Tiep, affirmed: All types of tobacco are harmful, the main ingredient is nicotine. With cigarettes, we can control the amount of nicotine entering the body, but with new generation cigarettes, we cannot. These products have attractive designs, attracting young people, this is very worrying when the rate of young people smoking electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products is increasing rapidly.

Therefore, this training course aims to guide supervisors and investigators to grasp research methods; how to investigate the current status of tobacco use (including passive smoking) among people aged 15 and over and tobacco control work in Quang Binh province in 2024.

Lecturers from the University of Public Health focused on instructing how to conduct direct interviews using the PGATS 2024 questionnaire on REDCap software; how to conduct direct interviews with research subjects, how to enter data directly during interviews, and select appropriate subjects for interviews; quantitative research based on self-filled questionnaires; how to collect household data, observe at public places, conduct in-depth interviews, and group discussions, etc.

Lecturers from the School of Public Health directly guide how to investigate the current situation of tobacco use.

Immediately after the training course, the provincial CDC will conduct an investigation and monitor the tobacco use situation of 2,400 people aged 15 and over at the following locations: Quang Tan, Quang Son, Quang Thuy communes (Ba Don town); Quan Hau town, Hien Ninh commune, Xuan Ninh (Quang Ninh); Dong Le town, Son Hoa commune, Duc Hoa (Tuyen Hoa).

The survey results will be the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of tobacco control work, thereby identifying the smoking situation in localities, and also the basis for the Provincial Steering Committee for Tobacco Control and relevant agencies to develop a tobacco control plan in the coming time in the province.

It is known that in Quang Binh, in recent times, the work of tobacco control has been of interest to all levels of government, departments, branches and sectors. Many agencies and units have hung no-smoking signs in visible places, crowded places, and places where smoking is likely to occur; at the same time, organizing for cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers to sign a commitment not to smoke at the agency or unit; including tobacco control content in the emulation criteria of the unit...

In addition, propaganda work has also been promoted from the province to the grassroots in many rich and diverse forms, with visual images and content about the impact of smoking on the socio-economy, the benefits of quitting smoking, the contents of the Law on Tobacco Control, places where smoking is completely banned, building a smoke-free model, etc.

Hanoi

Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/suc-khoe/202410/trung-tam-kiem-soat-benh-tat-tinh-dieu-tra-thuc-trang-su-dung-thuoc-la-o-nguoi-tu-15-tuoi-tro-len-2221634/