On the morning of November 27, under the direction of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh, the National Assembly worked in the Hall, discussing the draft Law on Investment (amended).
Ensuring economic development and protecting public safety
Discussing at the Hall, National Assembly Deputy Pham Trong Nhan (Ho Chi Minh City) emphasized that this amendment to the Investment Law must aim to build a law that paves the way for economic development resources, while becoming the "first door" to protect the safety of the community.
From that perspective, delegates are particularly interested in Article 6, which stipulates the list of industries and professions prohibited from investment and business - the "first guard" of the legal system, which establishes "red lines" that no entity is allowed to cross.
Appreciating Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly which stipulates the ban on the production, trading, import, transportation and use of electronic cigarettes, delegate Pham Trong Nhan noted: laughing gas N2O is a new psychoactive substance, causing rapid damage to health and more severe consequences.
“We do not have official national statistics on the rate of laughing gas use, but not because laughing gas is harmless, but because this activity takes place completely outside the control of the State. It is a "5 no" market system: no license, no quality standards, no toxicity testing, no traceability, no periodic medical reports. A market without data and no legal reference is a market outside the control of the State,” the delegate emphasized.
Based on this reality, the delegate believes that the only solution is to completely "close the door" to N2O gas in Article 6 of the draft Investment Law (amended). If this "legal weakness" is not addressed today, the consequences will certainly last into the future.
According to the delegate, this is not only a good medical story of the target group, but the contradiction lies in: A product that has been warned by the medical sector, raided by the police, and spoken out by the press, but is outside the law, specifically in the provisions prohibiting investment and business.
Citing research results at Bach Mai Hospital showing that N2O poisoning causes almost absolute spinal cord nerve damage, the delegate warned: “The scary thing is not only the chemicals, but also the fact that the group of users are mainly students - young people who are curious, easily seduced and most vulnerable.”
Concerned that the regulation banning the production and trading of N2O gas could cause trade disputes, delegate Pham Trong Nhan also pointed out that there is currently no precedent in the world showing that banning N2O causes trade disputes. Many countries have banned N2O or new psychoactive substances such as the UK with absolute ban, the Netherlands with strict ban and possession, Thailand, Japan, South Korea with strict ban and control, the United States with ban on the supply of N2O for recreational purposes. No country has encountered international legal problems when protecting adolescents.
Therefore, in addition to adding regulations to absolutely ban N2O laughing gas and new psychotropic substances, delegates suggested that the Government develop criteria to identify new psychotropic substances for timely updates; at the same time, review all industrial gases and food gases to prevent the use of commercial cover to destroy young people.
Sharing the same view, National Assembly deputies Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) and Nguyen Hoang Uyen (Tay Ninh) emphasized that Resolution 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly clearly defined the absolute ban on e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and all types of gases and addictive substances from 2025 to ensure public health, social order and safety.
Delegate Nguyen Anh Tri stated that this regulation has met the people's aspirations and has been highly appreciated internationally. The letter from the World Health Organization (WHO) to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh clearly stated: Vietnam's drastic action in banning these toxic products was commended by the WHO Director-General at the World Health Assembly in May 2025. WHO also recommended that the National Assembly's ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products should be reflected in the Investment Law (amended) and not come with any exceptions.
Although Article 6 of the draft Law, after being accepted and revised, has met WHO's recommendations, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri said that it is necessary to add an absolute ban on investment in the production of N2O laughing gas balloons for entertainment purposes and new psychotropic substances, because only then can the spirit of Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly be properly implemented.
There needs to be more reasonable regulations on the operating time of investment projects.
National Assembly Deputy Tran Van Tien (Phu Tho) agreed with the provisions on the operating time of investment projects in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 31, as well as the method of determining the operating time in some specific cases in Clause 4 of this Article.
However, the delegate said that calculating the project's operating time from the time of the decision to approve the investment policy is unreasonable, because at this time the State has not yet allocated land to the investor. The landowners are still using the land according to regulations and carrying out related activities. This leads to overlapping time and disadvantages for the investor. The delegate suggested that the project's operating time must be calculated from the time the State allocates land to the investor.
Regarding the regulation on adjusting the progress of investment projects, Clause 4, Article 34 limits the adjustment period to no more than 24 months compared to the original progress. Delegates believe that this regulation is not suitable, especially for large-scale projects with complex techniques, which can easily lead to the need for multiple adjustments, causing consequences and reducing investment efficiency. Delegates suggest that the adjustment progress should be based on the scale, nature and actual conditions of each project.
Clause 4, Article 3 of the draft Law stipulates that “an investment project is a set of proposals for medium-term or long-term capital investment to carry out business investment activities in a specific area, within a specified period of time”.
Regarding this provision, National Assembly Delegate Phan Thi My Dung (Tay Ninh) said that if this provision still maintains the medium-term or long-term criteria, many investment projects may not have a clear legal position. Meanwhile, clearly defining the criteria for investment projects is very important, because this is the basis for investors to apply preferential support policies according to the provisions of the draft Law.
Therefore, the delegate proposed to remove the words medium-term and long-term in the concept of investment projects.
Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/du-thao-luat-dau-tu-sua-doi-can-dong-cua-voi-khi-cuoi-n2o-de-bao-ve-the-he-tuong-lai-10397314.html
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