'New generation cigarettes are mostly smuggled'

VCCI Deputy Secretary General Dau Anh Tuan said that it is necessary to soon have a legal framework for new generation cigarettes, in order to manage and reduce smuggled goods.

Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest rate of smoking in the world . Recently, the appearance of new generation cigarettes (electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco) has changed the landscape of the cigarette market.

"The biggest problem now is that these products are mostly smuggled and hand-carried, without any control framework," said Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), at a seminar on the management of new-generation cigarettes on the afternoon of August 18. This omission is a big problem, affecting the health of consumers, the market, and even causing tax losses.

Dr. Nguyen Hai Cong, Head of the Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Department, Military Hospital 175 , said the latest statistics show that about 16 million Vietnamese people regularly use tobacco-related products. With the new generation of cigarettes, the trend of use is increasing rapidly, especially among young people, even students.

Compared to traditional cigarettes, new generation products have advantages such as less toxic gas content. In some countries such as the US, UK, Germany, there are recommendations for specific groups of people to switch to new generation cigarettes to minimize the impact on health.

"However, all tobacco products are harmful to humans. Nicotine in new generation cigarettes still causes damage to the cardiovascular system and nervous system in the short and long term," said Mr. Cong. Therefore, he noted that the public opinion in the country, focusing on young people, assessing that new generation cigarettes are not harmful is wrong.

"If people cannot be banned from using it, there should be a legal framework to manage it, the first goal of which is to reduce smuggled goods," he said. According to him, many countries in the world have policies on the circulation and trade of this item.

From the perspective of the management agency, Mr. Kieu Duong, Director of the Policy - Legal Department, General Department of Market Management ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) also agreed that there must be a framework for management soon. Currently, the number of smuggled new generation cigarettes is increasing very quickly, but the authorities are facing difficulties because there is no way to identify them and thereby impose appropriate penalties.

"In Hanoi alone, in the past six months, there have been 81 cases, with nearly 20,000 items seized. Hai Phong City Police also discovered a very large shipment of over 54,000 products. Most of the products were manufactured abroad and illegally brought into Vietnam on a large scale," he said.

Meanwhile, the cases are currently only handled based on legal regulations related to the circulation of goods (checking labels, invoices and documents) with the conclusion of the penalty being trading in goods of unknown origin; The highest administrative penalty is 50 million VND, not enough of a deterrent, while the profit of the goods is very high.

"The government needs to soon specifically identify new generation cigarettes and develop management policies to develop regulations," he said, noting that it is necessary to synchronize and cover quality standards, business regulations, production, import-export, distribution, and taxes to ensure effectiveness.

In addition, Mr. Dau Anh Tuan said that the Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention is currently defined in an open way, meaning that in addition to cigarettes made from tobacco plants, there are also products made from other alternative materials, processed in other forms. However, it is not clear whether the phrase "other alternative materials" includes new generation cigarettes or not.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the process of amending Decree 67 on the implementation of the Law on Tobacco Prevention, is also discussing whether or not to include new generation cigarettes. If so, what content will this product fall under? The Ministry of Finance is proposing to reserve new generation cigarettes in the group of subjects subject to special consumption tax due to the lack of a legal framework.

"We should admit that new generation cigarettes have been circulating in the market with a large number of users. We need to have a management policy soon to avoid the situation where there are violations but there is no basis for punishment, creating big consequences," said Mr. Tuan.

Duc Minh

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