Cigarettes to be taxed at VND10,000 per pack by 2031

WHO Director-General speaks at World Conference on Tobacco Control

The information was shared by Ms. Phan Thi Hai, Deputy Director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund ( Ministry of Health ), at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin (Ireland) taking place over 3 days from June 23 to 25. The event took place in the context of many countries facing cuts in public health budgets and the expansion of the tobacco industry's marketing strategy.

According to Ms. Hai, the revised Law on Special Consumption Tax was passed by the National Assembly this June, applying a mixed special consumption tax system to tobacco products.

Previously, in November 2024, the National Assembly also issued a Resolution to completely ban the production, trading, import, storage, transportation and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products from 2025.

"These decisions demonstrate the strong commitment of the Vietnamese Government in its efforts to protect people's health through preventing the harmful effects of tobacco," said Ms. Hai.

Vietnam is currently among the top 15 countries with the highest smoking rates in the world, with more than 15 million adult males (over 41%) using tobacco. This rate is only lower than Indonesia and Laos in ASEAN. Worryingly, the rate of e-cigarette use among women and adolescents is on the rise. Tobacco is causing an estimated loss of more than VND108,000 billion per year for Vietnam - 5 times the budget revenue from tobacco taxes.

Experts explain that tobacco is easily accessible to young people largely because of its low price and the current tax policy is not strong enough to deter. Evidence is that total tobacco production in Vietnam increased by more than 10% in 2022 - 2023 alone.

"This shows that when tax rates are low, the state budget does not collect much, while society has to bear heavy financial consequences," according to Dr. Nguyen Huy Quang, Vietnam Medical Association.

Mr. Quang gave an example: A pack of regular cigarettes in Vietnam costs only about 7,000 - 10,000, equivalent to 1/4 of a bowl of pho. This makes the price of cigarettes still very cheap compared to income and inflation, especially in the context of a stable macro economy.

Experts at the conference agreed that investing in tobacco control is one of the most effective health and economic strategies. Accordingly, increasing tobacco taxes will bring double benefits, not only increasing budget revenue but also reducing the number of smokers by 2.5 million.

Sarah Bales, an expert at the Vietnam Health Economics Association, said many countries have succeeded in raising tobacco taxes while maintaining economic stability. She added that “it is important to set tobacco prices high enough to make consumers think twice.”

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/thuoc-la-bi-danh-thue-10-000-dong-moi-bao-vao-nam-2031-414858.html