Vietnam and ASEAN countries face new surge in tobacco use

(Dan Tri) - According to the Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Anti-Tobacco Alliance, Vietnam has shown a strong and unified commitment to preventing e-cigarette and heated tobacco products.

Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), said that Vietnam, like other ASEAN countries, is facing the problem of increasing use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, especially among young people.

Mr. Ulysses Dorotheo assessed that the Vietnamese Government has shown a strong and unified commitment to preventing harmful products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The Vietnamese National Assembly issued a Resolution banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, following Resolution No. 72 of the Politburo on protecting, caring for and improving people's health.

Cigarette smoke poisons the health of Vietnamese people, especially young people (Illustration: Minh Nhat).

"However, we are concerned that the current draft Investment Law (amended) only includes traditional tobacco in the list of conditional business lines, but does not yet stipulate a complete ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

This omission poses a serious risk to public health, especially to the youth - the future generation of Vietnam. Therefore, it is necessary to include e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in the list of prohibited investment and business sectors to ensure the consistency of the legal system," Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo emphasized.

According to Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, in essence, this is not just a "ban", but a commitment to sustainable development, expressing the view: health is the most valuable asset of the nation, and people are at the center of all policies.

This approach not only helps Vietnam keep pace with global public health policy trends, but also affirms Vietnam's role as a pioneering and responsible country in protecting public health - something that has been highly appreciated by WHO and the international community.

Previously, the Ministry of Health proposed to include the prohibition of investment and business in "electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products" in Article 6 of the draft Investment Law (amended) to comply with the provisions of Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15.

At the recent meeting of the Discussion Group on the Investment Law (amended), many National Assembly deputies (NA deputies) also expressed their opinions that e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are harmful products. The National Assembly has also passed a Resolution on banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, so the draft Investment Law (amended) must prohibit the trading of these products.

In recent times, while the rate of smoking conventional cigarettes has decreased, the rate of using electronic cigarettes has increased rapidly, especially among young people.

In 2019, about 2.6% of 15-17 year old students smoked e-cigarettes, but by 2022, this rate increased to 3.5% and is getting younger.

The Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health) emphasizes that preventing smoking among young people is one of the priority goals in policies on tobacco harm prevention.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/viet-nam-va-cac-nuoc-asean-doi-mat-voi-su-gia-tang-su-dung-thuoc-la-moi-20251121122958246.htm