Strengthening communication to prevent non-communicable diseases

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, MSc. Ho Hong Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Legal Affairs (Ministry of Information and Communications) said that according to statistics from the Ministry of Health , in Vietnam, out of every 100 deaths, 77 people die from non-communicable diseases, of which cardiovascular diseases account for 31%, cancer accounts for 19%, COPD accounts for 6%, diabetes accounts for 4% and other non-communicable diseases account for 18%.

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For non-communicable diseases, the specific cause is often not determined, but there is only a group of risk factors that contribute to the development of the disease, including: Unhealthy living environment, tobacco, alcohol, foods high in saturated fat and trans fat, eating a lot of salt and sugar (especially in sweet drinks), lack of exercise... are common risk factors.

The Prime Minister signed Decision No. 155/QD-TTg dated January 29, 2022 on approving the National Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Disorders for the 2022-2025 period; in which the key solutions are to promote communication to improve health to reduce risky behaviors, prevent non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders.

“At the workshop, experts provided reporters and editors with information related to the current situation and harmful effects of products harmful to health, including: cigarettes, new tobacco products, sugary drinks; the relationship between harmful products and non-communicable diseases; effective policies to control these products. From there, promoting communication work helps to minimize the main risk behaviors leading to non-communicable diseases,” said Mr. Ho Hong Hai.

Speaking more about the consequences of non-communicable diseases, Dr. Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Vietnam, said that currently non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death in Vietnam. That is why it is necessary to raise awareness for society, including policy makers. Non-communicable diseases not only cause a burden on health and medical care but also on the economy . The WHO representative cited evidence that tobacco causes global economic losses of up to 4.5 billion USD each year. Tobacco not only harms people's health and reduces labor productivity, but is also the leading cause of death. In fact, in Vietnam, tobacco prices are still very cheap, people can easily access tobacco products available on the market... one of the reasons is that the tax rate on tobacco is too low. Currently, there is no product that causes a mortality rate as high as tobacco.

“There is clear and convincing evidence that investing in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases not only brings great health benefits to people, but also in economic terms. One of the measures that can be implemented is to tax harmful products such as tobacco and alcoholic beverages in addition to reducing advertising and trade promotion activities to reduce consumption of toxic products,” Dr. Angela Pratt affirmed.

Studies show that after many years of implementing communication activities, some risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Vietnam have improved but still have high rates such as smoking, drinking alcohol, eating few vegetables and fruits, eating a lot of salt, lack of physical activity... Therefore, experts say that Vietnam needs to implement some effective, low-cost interventions to reduce the risk of increasing non-communicable diseases such as increasing tobacco taxes (reducing purchasing power), completely banning tobacco advertising and sponsorship; regulating the sale of alcohol; implementing programs to improve nutrition and physical activity...

Q.FLOWER

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