Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Calls For Strengthened International Cooperation To Assess The Hazards Of E-cigarettes And Heated Tobacco

Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister calls for strengthened international cooperation to assess the hazards of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco

The Vietnamese government is paying close attention to the possible health hazards caused by e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, and stressed that it will strengthen the supervision and publicity of these products to protect the health of the public, especially young people.

According to Tuoitre on June 2, the Vietnamese government sent a letter to relevant departments on the implementation of e-cigarette and heated tobacco supervision, calling on relevant departments to supervise e-cigarettes and heated tobacco. Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà asked the Ministry of Health to strengthen international cooperation, study and evaluate possible harms, and propose policies, laws and increase public publicity to raise awareness of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.

According to statistics from treatment institutions across the country, 1,224 people were hospitalized for e-cigarette use in 2023 alone. In addition, a survey on e-cigarette use in 11 provinces and cities showed that the proportion of e-cigarette use among students aged 13-17 increased from 2.6% in 2019 to 8.1% in 2023. Among the 13-15 age group, the proportion increased from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023. Among the female group aged 11-18, the proportion of e-cigarette users will reach 4.3% in 2023.

In response, the Ministry of Health is studying and submitting a resolution to the National Assembly to ban the production, sale, import and advertising of e-cigarettes, heated cigarettes and other new tobacco products that may be exported in the future. In the long run, the Ministry of Health will propose to the government and the National Assembly to revise the Tobacco Harm Prevention Act to incorporate this provision into the law to ensure the stable implementation of the task.

In addition, in order to protect the health and safety of the public, the Ministry of Health calls for the support and commitment of relevant departments to strictly formulate and implement policies and regulations, especially to prohibit the production, marketing, import and advertising of new tobacco products, so as to achieve synchronization in all aspects such as legislation, execution, publicity and education.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that it will focus on raising public awareness of the harm of heated cigarettes and e-cigarettes, while encouraging parents, schools and communities to jointly protect the next generation.

"The Ministry of Health calls for the support and commitment of relevant departments to strictly formulate and implement policies and regulations, especially to prohibit the production, sale, import and advertising of new tobacco products, strengthen law enforcement, strengthen inspection and supervision, and severely deal with illegal sales and marketization of new tobacco products, especially sales to teenagers."