Tax is 'vaccine' against the harmful effects of tobacco on health

Preventing smoking is protecting smokers from the risks.

To address current health challenges, in his speech to health workers on Vietnam Doctors' Day, February 27, General Secretary To Lam suggested focusing first on disease prevention, health promotion and longevity. The General Secretary said that the basic elements of a healthy culture include saying "no" to tobacco and other toxic substances.

Dr. Jennifer Houston - Deputy Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam said that, more than anyone else, doctors will understand that using cigarettes, e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products is harmful to health and the economy .

"Evidence from around the world shows that the most effective and cost-effective intervention to reduce tobacco use is through higher taxes and prices. This is why WHO strongly urges policymakers to support the largest tax increases at this historic opportunity. Higher taxes, and therefore higher prices, will encourage smokers to quit and prevent young people from starting," said Dr. Jennifer Houston.

“Tobacco taxes are like a vaccine against the harmful effects of tobacco on the health of young people – by preventing them from starting to smoke, we are helping to protect them from the risks of lifelong tobacco use,” emphasized the WHO Deputy Representative in Vietnam.

The WHO representative also added that tax reform would achieve win-win benefits by reducing tobacco consumption and the harmful effects of tobacco on people's health. At the same time, it would help increase budget revenue from tobacco taxes to invest in key government priorities.

Counseling and medication can double your chances of successfully quitting smoking

The theme of this year's World No Tobacco Day is "Debunking the Allure: Exposing the Industry's Tactics for Tobacco and Nicotine Products," according to Dr. Jennifer Houston. The theme highlights the industry's manipulative tactics — including targeting young people and hiding the dangers of their highly addictive products.

"We have seen this in Vietnam, especially with e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, with different flavors such as watermelon, raspberry... to mask the irritation of nicotine and colorful packaging that attracts young people. Therefore, WHO warmly welcomes the comprehensive ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products by the Vietnamese National Assembly in November 2024," said Dr. Jennifer Houston.

The WHO representative in Viet Nam said that the need to do now is to support users of nicotine and tobacco products to quit. Investing in smoking cessation services is a sensible investment that saves lives and promotes healthier populations and economies. Every dollar invested in services such as brief counselling, quit lines, digital quit tools, nicotine replacement therapy and cessation medications will bring a return on investment of more than $7 in the future.

On behalf of WHO, Dr. Jennifer Houston expressed her honour to support Viet Nam in this work, for example through training and capacity building packages, as well as technical support for the development of toll-free quit lines or text messages.

“Counselling and medication can double a smoker’s chances of successfully quitting. Evidence shows that health care workers have the greatest potential of any group in society to support people to quit smoking.

Brief advice from health professionals can increase the success rate of quitting by up to 30%, while in-depth advice increases the chance of quitting by 84%. Among smokers who are aware of the dangers of smoking, most want to quit,” said Jennifer Houston.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thue-la-vaccine-chong-lai-tac-hai-cua-thuoc-la-doi-voi-suc-khoe-post549456.html