Increasing tobacco taxes, banning e-cigarettes or what measures will quickly reduce the number of smokers?

Despite persistent tobacco harm prevention efforts over the past 10 years, Vietnam is still among the countries with the highest rate of smokers in the world (38.9% of adult men, and over 20% of both sexes in 2023).

More and more young people are smoking e-cigarettes, causing concern - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Compared to more than 10 years ago (when 47% of adult men smoked), this rate has decreased significantly, but the number of smokers in Vietnam is still very high and decreasing slowly, requiring stronger measures to protect public health. For this reason, there have been and are a series of strong measures to quickly reduce the number of smokers, especially teenagers. In particular, the National Assembly's recent resolution banning electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Vietnam at its 8th session last November was assessed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and domestic and foreign health agencies to have a strong impact on the effectiveness of preventing smokers, especially teenagers. In addition, the upcoming proposal to increase tobacco taxes is also an important measure towards this goal. According to WHO research, increasing tobacco taxes is the fastest and most effective way to reduce smoking rates. TaXSim research shows that if Vietnam increases the tax according to the roadmap to reach 15,000 VND/pack by 2030, the smoking rate among men can be reduced to 35.8%, achieving the national strategic goal. To have a more comprehensive view of the impact of the latest measures, the measures to be implemented to prevent the harmful effects of tobacco, Tuoi Tre newspaper in coordination with the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health) organizes an online exchange "Experience of countries in the effectiveness of preventing the harmful effects of tobacco after banning e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products", starting at 2:00 p.m. on December 12. From now on, readers who have questions about the impact of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products on health, upcoming moves of Vietnam, and experiences of countries on this issue can send them to the guests: - Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Thuy , Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Ministry of Health. - Mr. Nguyen Tuan Lam , World Health Organization Office in Vietnam. The answer will be updated on tuoitre.vn from 4:00 p.m. on December 12. Please read on. Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tang-thue-thuoc-la-cam-thuoc-la-dien-tu-hay-bien-phap-nao-lam-giam-nhanh-so-nguoi-hut-thuoc-20241211160144491.htm