On May 23, at the meeting of the Central Propaganda Department, Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Minister of Health spoke about the work of preventing the harmful effects of tobacco in Vietnam.
Accordingly, electronic cigarettes contain nicotine - a highly addictive substance that causes heart and lung diseases and many other diseases.
Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said that over the past 10 years, since the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms was issued, the work of preventing and controlling the harmful effects of tobacco has achieved many remarkable results.
Cigarettes are harmful to health (photo TL).
The implementation of smoke-free environments has had many positive changes. The rate of tobacco use among adult men decreased from 47.4% in 2010 to 42.3% in 2020.
In the 13-15 age group, the smoking rate also decreased significantly from 2.5% in 2014 to 1.9% in 2022.
However, the Deputy Minister of Health also informed that in recent years, many products called electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products have appeared with diverse designs and flavors that are very attractive to young people.
While the rate of smoking conventional cigarettes is decreasing, the rate of using e-cigarettes is increasing rapidly, especially among young people.
According to the 2019 World Health Organization survey, the rate of e-cigarette use among 15-17 year old students in Vietnam is 2.6%. The 2022 survey on tobacco use among students shows that the rate of e-cigarette use among 13-15 year old students is 3.5%.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance that has been linked to heart disease, lung disease, and other illnesses. In addition to nicotine, e-cigarettes contain other chemicals and about 20,000 flavorings, many of which have not been fully evaluated for their health risks.
In addition to the same harmful effects as regular cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products also pose a risk of causing social evils, especially the use of drugs and other addictive substances.
In the ASEAN region, there are 5 countries that have completely banned e-cigarettes.
Citing information from the World Health Organization that no tobacco product is safe for health, Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said: Electronic cigarettes are not a product that helps people quit smoking regular cigarettes and are also not a product that is less harmful or poses less risk to health.
At the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP 8), WHO warned that allowing new products would rapidly increase their use, leading to nicotine addiction and conventional cigarette use among young people.
Parties should consider prioritizing measures to prevent the introduction of new tobacco products, including at the highest level, the adoption of a ban.
If we do not aggressively block these new tobacco products, including through pilot programs, tobacco use will rise again.
Vietnam will suffer much more severe consequences in the near future and the achievements will be destroyed.
At the same time, the Deputy Minister emphasized: We will have to make more efforts, spend more human resources and finances to reduce the smoking rate, address the burden of disease and death caused by tobacco as well as the social, economic and environmental consequences, especially the serious consequences for the health of the young generation.
Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said that to call on countries to join hands and promote activities to prevent and combat the harmful effects of tobacco, the World Health Organization has chosen May 31 as World No Tobacco Day.
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