Still “researching” proposals for managing e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products

The Parliament has recorded many concerns of National Assembly deputies about the unpredictable harms of new generation cigarettes, including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien .

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is researching and developing a Decree on tobacco trading (replacing Decree No. 67/2013/ND-CP).

In the draft Decree, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is expected to propose a number of contents related to the management of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will coordinate with the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and branches to complete the draft and report to the Government.

The above information was given by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien in a report on the situation and results of the implementation of the National Assembly's Resolution on questioning and issues promised at the previous session in the field of industry and trade, recently sent to National Assembly delegates.

Previously, at the 7th Session of the National Assembly, a number of discussion sessions and questioning sessions with Minister Dien showed many concerns of National Assembly deputies about the unpredictable harms of new generation cigarettes (including electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco).

Previously, nearly 5 years ago, from October 2019, when reviewing the Government's report on the results of operations and management and use of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund for the period 2018 - 2019, the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs (now the Social Committee) proposed that the Government develop regulations to manage the business activities of newly emerging tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and other products.

In early May 2024, the explanation session on state management responsibilities for preventing and combating the harmful effects of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, chaired by the National Assembly's Social Committee in coordination with the National Assembly's Culture and Education Committee, showed that the numbers related to new-generation cigarettes have become alarming.

According to reports from nearly 700 medical facilities, including hospitals under the Ministry of Health, hospitals under the Department of Health and district medical centers, in 2023 alone, there were 1,224 hospitalizations due to the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

The conclusion of the explanation session affirmed that there are legal gaps in preventing and combating the harmful effects of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. One of the reasons is that the viewpoints of ministries, branches and localities in state management of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are not unified, leading to slow implementation of the Government's directives and slow issuance of legal documents to manage and combat the harmful effects of new types of tobacco.

With clear messages from the explanation session, at the 7th Session of the National Assembly, some delegates continued to question and "demand" a coherent answer from the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade about dealing with new generation cigarettes.

Before the National Assembly and voters nationwide, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said: "If the Ministry of Health affirms that new generation tobacco products are harmful to health to the point of being banned, then the Ministry of Industry and Trade supports the need to soon amend relevant legal regulations so that these products cannot be circulated in Vietnam."

The result of implementing this promise is still "under research" to propose some contents related to the management of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, with no clear completion date.

The report of Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also stated that the Ministry of Health is assigned to review the system of legal documents on prevention and control of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to propose amendments to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms and to research and propose promulgation under its authority or submit to competent authorities for promulgation of solutions to manage e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/van-dang-nghien-cuu-de-xuat-viec-quan-ly-thuoc-la-dien-tu-thuoc-la-nung-nong-d227878.html