Priorities given to prevent, curb smoking among adolescents, women

A delegation from Bloomberg Philanthropies and organisations joining the charity fund’s initiative to mitigate tobacco use visited Vietnam from October 9-12.

The meeting between the delegation from Bloomberg Philanthropies and representatives of Health Ministry

The delegation led by Betsy Fuller, Senior Programme Manager of Bloomberg Philanthropies’s Public Health Programme, met with representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund, the Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Women's Union and related ministries and agencies to continue to raise the efficiency of support from international organisations to tobacco control activities in Vietnam.

At a meeting with the delegation on October 9, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan called on the Bloomberg Philanthropies to continue to support Vietnam in implementing the goals of the National Strategy on Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control to 2030, and the law on tobacco harm prevention and control, especially the issue of increasing tobacco taxes, preventing the use of preventing the use of e-cigarettes and heated cigarettes, and continuing to help increase capacity for the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund and workers engaging in tobacco harm prevention and control in Vietnam.

On October 10, the delegation attended a confernce of experts on tobacco harm prevention and control, during which the participants said that activities to prevent and combat tobacco harm are increasingly promoted in provinces and cities nationwide. Communication work on the harmful effects of tobacco and building a smoke-free environment is organised nationwide in diverse forms.

As a result, the rate of tobacco use among men aged from 15 and above decreased from 42.3% in 2020 to 38.9% in 2022. The rate of tobacco use among students aged between 13 and 15 dropped from 2.5% in 2014 to 1.9% in 2022.

At meetings with representatives from the women's union and youth union, Betsy Fuller said Vietnam has launched many effective campaigns to prevent and combat the harmful effects of tobacco among young people.

She said that to continue to effectively prevent smoking among teenagers, Vietnam's cigarette tax rate needs to be adjusted to increase according to recommendations of the World Health Organisation.

The delegation highly appreciated the tobacco harm prevention and control activities implemented by the Vietnam Women's Union and agreed to continue to provide support, especially those to curb smoking among adolescents and women./.

VNA