It is necessary to strengthen supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on tobacco harm prevention and control.

At the seminar "Harmful effects of new tobacco products on adolescents" recently organized by the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education in coordination with the Ministry of Health , Vice Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education Ta Van Ha stated that new tobacco products including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are on the rise in use in the world and in Vietnam. Scientific evidence shows that new tobacco products pose many harmful risks. New tobacco products contain many toxic substances, the risk of nicotine addiction, and diseases such as cancer, especially lung cancer.

Reducing the number of smokers helps reduce the burden of disease caused by tobacco.

According to the Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture andEducation , the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products is harmful to the health of both smokers and those around them, similar to regular cigarettes. “New tobacco products have a high potential risk and cause social evils, especially the use of drugs and addictive substances at the same time as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, affecting health, security and social order much more seriously than regular cigarettes.”, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education Ta Van Ha emphasized.

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education Ta Van Ha said that teenagers are young, dynamic, creative, and eager to learn. However, due to the characteristics of their age, they are always curious, like to explore and experiment with new things, and want to express themselves, so they are easily caught up in bad trends and vices. Cigarettes are a product aimed at young people, causing teenagers to become addicted to nicotine earlier and the health effects will be more serious both in the short term and in the long term.

Evidence from countries that allow the use of e-cigarettes shows that e-cigarettes are a cause for the initiation of conventional cigarette use among adolescents because of the addictive nature of nicotine. Therefore, adolescents who use e-cigarettes are more likely to become conventional cigarette smokers. This has caused harm to the health of young people, an important human resource in the development of the country.

According to Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Education Ta Van Ha, Vietnam has made many internationally recognized efforts in controlling the supply of tobacco and applying measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, however, the work of preventing and combating the harmful effects of tobacco on young people in Vietnam is facing many difficulties and challenges. The use of new tobacco products among young people is also on the rise.

National Assembly Delegate Leo Thi Lich - National Assembly Delegation of Bac Giang province frankly pointed out the reality in many areas, especially remote areas, the management of new tobacco products has not really received attention, leaving it to the market management agency. "In practice, the management is still quite loose, with many loopholes, leading to new tobacco products flooding the market. If this situation is not promptly remedied, it will lead to great harm to the young generation, the future generation of the country", Delegate Lich emphasized.

Among the many causes leading to this situation, delegates frankly pointed out that Vietnam does not have a specific policy and legal framework to manage new cigarettes. The Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, which has been in effect for 10 years, has achieved some remarkable results. However, some regulations are no longer suitable to reality; new problems have arisen such as new generation cigarettes, which greatly affect tobacco prevention work and the mental and health of users, but have not been adjusted in the Law, so there is no basis for handling. In Vietnam, the problem is even more dangerous when the target group of cigarette users is the new generation, mainly teenagers.

Vice Chairwoman of the Social Committee Do Thi Lan expressed her support for the proposal to include in the Law and Ordinance Development Program the amendment and supplement of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms. At the same time, she said that it is necessary to continue to strengthen the supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on prevention and control of tobacco harms, especially the use of new tobacco products among youth, teenagers, students, etc.

In addition, the Government is requested to direct the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and branches to promptly evaluate and summarize the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, review detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms to propose amendments and improvements to the legal system on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, especially the management and use of new tobacco products.

Along with that, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is requested to strengthen inspection, control, and prevention of smuggling, storage, transportation, and illegal trading of new cigarettes; strictly handle violations according to the provisions of law in commercial activities, production, and trading of counterfeit and prohibited goods, and protect consumer rights; seriously implement the provisions of Clause 19, Article 1 of Decree 106/2017/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 67/2013-CP on research and development of appropriate regulations to manage electronic cigarette products; strengthen market management, control, inspection, detection, and handling to prevent smuggling of cigarettes, especially electronic cigarettes.

The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense and relevant ministries, branches and localities shall strengthen control over the production and trade of tobacco, violations of advertising, non-compliance with regulations on printing health warnings on tobacco product packaging; prevent acts of smuggling and transporting tobacco across borders and border gates, especially new tobacco.

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