On November 11, about 40 National Assembly deputies questioned and debated with Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan. The issue of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products was of interest to many National Assembly deputies, who requested clarification on whether or not they should be banned. Minister Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry of Health wants to have a resolution from the National Assembly on banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products before amending the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms. Ms. Lan affirmed that the Ministry of Health's viewpoint does not agree with testing these types of cigarettes.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan brought e-cigarettes to the parliament as evidence. Photo: National Assembly

Next, "sharing the fire" with the Minister of Health, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that since the beginning of the term, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has agreed with this proposal of the Ministry of Health, agreeing that this is a product harmful to health, and there must be a legal framework to ban this product soon. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Minister personally did not propose to continue piloting this project. In fact, in the past, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has always refused to grant business licenses and registration notices for e-commerce websites trading in new generation cigarettes. This morning (November 12), the Minister of Health will continue to answer questions. Notably, the question of delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan (HCMC) raised the difficulty of the "three legs" of the health sector including prevention, treatment and supply. Regarding supply, the HCMC delegate cited the persistent shortage of drugs. Patients who lack medicine have to buy their own health insurance medicine and "up to now, there has been no action from the authorities to compensate for this cost". Regarding treatment, when will the Ministry have a summary of the model of socialization of medical examination and treatment facilities to increase autonomy, not just cut budget expenditures. What is the Minister "fighting" to increase the investment budget for the health sector? Regarding prevention, delegates asked about the income of medical staff and the situation of resignations, and if the epidemic returns, will the health sector be confident in responding? At around 9:00 a.m., after the question-and-answer session with the Minister of Health, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man will chair the question-and-answer session on the information and communication sector. This group of sectors includes the following issues: Solutions to improve the quality of press activities in the current period of social media explosion, especially the role of revolutionary press in promoting socio-economic development. Management of advertising activities in newspapers and online environments. Investment, development and improvement of telecommunications infrastructure quality, especially in remote areas and ethnic minority areas. The person answering the question is Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung. Photo: National Assembly

Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc; Ministers of Planning and Investment, Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, Culture, Sports and Tourism, Science and Technology, Public Security; Chairman of the Ethnic Committee will also participate in answering questions and explaining related issues. At about 3:15 p.m., Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will, on behalf of the Government, clarify issues related to the Government's management work and directly answer questions from National Assembly deputies. At the end of the session, the National Assembly will vote to pass a Resolution on questioning activities as a basis for agencies to implement and also as a basis for the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, National Assembly agencies, National Assembly delegations, and National Assembly deputies to supervise. At the same time, through the questioning of National Assembly deputies, ministers and heads of sectors will have more information to perfect effective solutions in directing and operating, creating real changes in each management area.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hom-nay-thu-tuong-va-bo-truong-tt-tt-tra-loi-chat-van-cua-dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-2340992.html