Health ministry wants everyone to stop smoking

Participants at the meeting held on May 29 in Hanoi to respond to the World No Tobacco Day (May 31) and the National No Tobacco Week (May 25-31) (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Quitting smoking would help create a healthy environment for
each individual, family and society, said Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong
Son at a meeting held in Hanoi on May 29 to respond to World No Tobacco
Day (May 31) and (May 25-31).

He added that it is a message
the ministry wanted to send to every smoker in the country.

This year, the World Health
Organisation’s campaign focuses on protecting children and
young people from exploitation by the tobacco industry.

Speaking at the meeting, Son
urged all ministries, sectors and localities nationwide to strengthen their
implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.

Since the tobacco law came into
effect in May 2013, the smoking rate among men decreased by about 2.1 percent
and women by 0.3 percent.

Through the event, the
ministry’s Tobacco Harms Prevention and Control Fund wants to warn the
community about the health consequences of tobacco use and the importance
of protecting children and young people from tobacco.

According to the WHO, more than
40 million young people aged 13-15 have already started to use tobacco in the
world.

Countries can protect children
from industry exploitation by putting in place strict tobacco control laws,
including regulating products like e-cigarettes that have already begun to hook
a new generation of young people, the WHO said.

Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the
‘s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment said
currently, the numbers of students and youngsters using e-cigarettes is
increasing in Vietnam.

Advertising campaigns for
e-cigarettes are aimed at students and youngsters by showing the products’
cool designs, convenience and new flavours that make young people overlook
the risks the products could pose to their health, Khue said.
New tobacco products also have
many components harmful to human health, which are difficult to control, he
said.

The ministry plans to propose
the National Assembly consider putting e-cigarettes and heated tobacco
products on the list of goods banned from trading and consumption.

It is estimated Vietnam
has about 13 million smokers and is one of the top 15 countries for smoking
worldwide. Every year, about 40,000 people die from smoking in Vietnam./.