Hanoi (VNA) - Alcoholharm prevention content should be included in workplace regulationsby banning drinking before and during working hours and drivingvehicles, a top health official has said.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen made the recommendationat a Ministry of Health meeting on the law on alcohol harm preventionand control on September 28, wherehe called for fighting the harms of alcohol with the same resolve as has been usedto fight COVID-19.

Heads of organisations and agencies should take responsibilityif their staff commit alcohol-related violations, and provincial-level People’sCouncils should includeanti-alcohol harm work in their resolutions.

He also suggested localities set up steering boards foralcohol harm prevention and control, assign tasks to each sector and level ofauthority, build plans for law implementation and ensure drastic actionsthat match local conditions.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol is the fifthleading cause of death in the world and also a cause of many chronicdiseases. Alcohol abuse also affects family and social relations and underminesthe quality of human resources and population.

The deputy minister pointedout that in Vietnam,drinking is one of the three leading causes of traffic accidents among malesaged between 15 and 49. The cost of settling alcohol-related traffic accidentsaccounts for about 1 percent of GDP.

Meanwhile, the cost of treating six cancers (breast cancer,colorectal cancer, liver cancer, mouth cancer, stomach cancer, cervicalcancer) with alcohol among the main causes is also a burden on many familiesand society.

Statistics indicate an upward trend in the average per capitaalcohol consumption among people aged 15 and above, both male and female, in Vietnam. The rate of alcohol use amongadolescents and the youth is about 80 percent for males and 36 percent forfemales.

Notably, more than 40 percent of males use alcohol at a hazardouslevel, which is drinking 60 grams of alcohol or more at least once within 30days.

The deputy minister said given the considerable hazards ofalcohol to public health and social issues, most countries around theworld have strictly controlled alcoholic beverages and discouraged consumption.

In Vietnam, thelaw on alcohol harm prevention and control took effect on January 1 to preventand minimise the health, social and economic consequences causedby alcohol abuse.

Under current regulations, people from 16 years old to less than18 years old can be fined 200,000-500,000 VND (8-21 USD) for consuming alcohol.
Those who drink in banned places like hospitals or schoolsduring working hours or those who entice others to drink can be fined 500,000 VND to 1 million VND.

Those who drink alcohol before or during working hours or thosewho force others to drink would face the fine of 1-3 million VND.

Heads of organisations/agencies can be fined 3-5 million VND if they don’t implementalcohol harm prevention efforts./.