Ministry of Health responds to voters' petitions

On November 30, 2024, the National Assembly passed Resolution 173/2024/QH15 on questioning activities at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly. In which, Point 2.2. regarding the health sector stipulates: "The National Assembly agrees to ban the production, trading, import, storage, transportation, and use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, gases, and addictive substances that are harmful to human health from 2025, ensuring public health, social order and safety; assign the Government to organize specific implementation".

To specifically implement the above content, on December 23, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch 1098/TTg-QHDP on the implementation of the Resolution at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly, in which the Minister of Industry and Trade was assigned to "Organize the specific implementation of the prohibition of production, trading, import, storage, transportation, and use of electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, gases, and addictive substances that are harmful to human health". On January 16, 2025, the Prime Minister continued to issue Decision 150/QD-TTg promulgating the 2025 Work Program of the Government and the Prime Minister. In particular, the Minister of Health is assigned to develop a decision of the Prime Minister promulgating a plan to implement Resolution 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly on banning the production, trading, import, harboring, transporting, and using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products and to develop a Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 117/2020/ND-CP, dated September 28, 2020 of the Government on administrative sanctions for violations in the health sector.

Currently, to carry out the two tasks assigned by the Government in Decision 150/QD-TTg, the Ministry of Health has drafted a decision and sent it to the units under the Ministry of Health, ministries, ministerial-level agencies; People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities for comments. On that basis, the Ministry of Health revised and completed the draft decision and on February 7, 2025, the Ministry of Health submitted Document 164/TTr-BYT to Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long and the Prime Minister for the draft Decision of the Prime Minister promulgating the Plan to implement Resolution 173/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly on questioning activities at the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly.

The draft decision includes three main parts: Organizing propaganda, dissemination, and training on the harmful effects of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, administrative sanctions, and criminal handling of acts of production, trading, import, harboring, transporting, and using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to subjects in appropriate forms; organizing the review of current legal documents related to the provisions of the resolution prohibiting the production, trading, import, harboring, transporting, and using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to propose amendments, supplements, repeals, or new issuances; developing and issuing according to authority or submitting to competent authorities for issuance of legal documents, management documents, and documents guiding the implementation of the provisions prohibiting the production, trading, import, harboring, transporting, and using e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in the resolution.

Regarding the drafting of the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 117/2020/ND-CP, dated September 28, 2020 of the Government on administrative sanctions for violations in the health sector. Through review, the Ministry of Health found that the acts of production, trading, storage, transportation, and advertising of prohibited goods have been sanctioned in Article 8, Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, dated August 26, 2020 of the Government on sanctions for administrative violations in commercial activities, production, trading of counterfeit goods, prohibited goods and protection of consumer rights; Article 33, Decree 38/2021/ND-CP, dated March 29, 2021 of the Government on sanctions for administrative violations in the fields of culture and advertising and Articles 190 and 191 of the Penal Code. However, there are no administrative sanctions for the act of "harboring" and "using" electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health has added the fines and the acts of “harboring” and “using” e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to the draft decree. The draft decree is currently undergoing the process and procedures for promulgating legal documents. After receiving comments, the Ministry of Health will compile, edit and submit to the Government for promulgation according to regulations.

KN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/bo-y-te-tra-loi-kien-nghi-cu-tri-a418676.html