Some e-cigarette products (Photo: AFP/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry
of Health (MoH) has demanded enhancing communications along with examination
and settlement of the purchase, sale, and trading of and heated
tobacco products, which haven’t been licensed in Vietnam.
The MoH recently sent a document
to the provincial-level People’s Committees nationwide, the Ministry of
Education and Training, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of
Information and Communications, and the Ministry of Public Security to ask for
increasing communications about the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems (also called e-cigarettes), heated tobacco products, and shisha. It also called
for boosting examination and settlement.
Though Vietnam hasn’t
permitted the import, trading, or circulation of those products, the acts are
becoming popular, especially on the Internet, the MoH said, pointing out that
with diverse designs and flavours of e-cigarettes, vaping is rising fast in the
country, particularly among students.
It cited the 2019 statistics
from the World Health Organisation (WHO) as showing that 2.6% of the students
aged 15 – 17 in Vietnam vaped. A 2022 survey also revealed 3.5% of those aged
13 – 15 used e-cigarettes.
Healthcare establishments
and the media have reported many cases of students poisoned with nicotine and
liquids used in those products.
Apart from the harms similar
to regular cigarettes’, the use of e-cigarettes and also
poses the risk of causing social evils, especially the crimes related to drugs and other addictive substances, according
to the MoH./.
Source: VietnamPlus
