Meeting raises public awareness of prevention and control of tobacco harms
A meeting in response to the World No Tobacco Day (May 31) themed “Tobacco: A Threat to Our Environment”, and the National No Tobacco Week (from May 25 - May 31) was jointly held by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Hanoi on May 31.
Vu Dang Minh, Chief of the Office and Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Tobacco Control of the Ministry of Home Affairs speaks at the meeting. (Photo: //www.moha.gov.vn/)
Hanoi (VNA) – A meeting in response to the World No TobaccoDay (May 31) themed “Tobacco: A Threat to Our Environment”, and the National No Tobacco Week (from May 25 - May 31) was jointly held by the Ministry of HomeAffairs and the Ministry of Health (MoH)in Hanoi on May 31.
Addressing the opening ceremony, VuDang Minh, Chief of the Office and Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Tobacco Control of the Ministryof Home Affairs, underlined the message of the World Health Organisation (WHO)in the theme of this year’s WorldNo Tobacco Day, saying that it aims to call on countries to seekways to raise public awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco use on theenvironment.
He said that theMinistry of Home Affairs has taken a series of practical solutions toward a living environment without smokes. Minh suggested agenciesand units step up communications about the harmful effects of using tobaccoproducts, and provisions of the Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention and Control, especiallycontents directly related to the responsibility of leaders and smokers, and placeswhere smoking is prohibited.
According to the WHO, oneof the main causes behind non-communicable diseases such cancer, high blood pressure,stroke, and heart disease, is smoking, said AssociateProfessor Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Departmentof Medical Examination and Treatment, and Director of the Vietnam TobaccoControl Fund (VNTCF).
He emphasised the needfor everyone to join hands in the fight against smoking, for the health of the whole community,and for a greener and cleaner environment.
According to the national tobacco harm prevention and control programme, 40,000Vietnamese people die each year from tobacco-related diseases. It is estওimated that in 2021, the number of Vietnamesepeople dying from tobacco use exceeded the total number of deaths from HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis, traffic accidents and suicide./.
The Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund and the Global Public Health Organisation (Vital Strategies) launched a communication campaign to promote the enforcement of the ban on smoking in indoor public places on August 10.
It is essential to issue a stronger policy to prevent the use of e-cigarettes among youths, heard a meeting held by the Health Ministry’s Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund in Hanoi on April 7.
The Ministry of Health and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee held a ceremony in Hanoi on May 28 to mark World No Tobacco Day (May 31) and a national no tobacco week.
A drop has been reported in the number of male adult smokers, but the ratio of e-cigarette smokers among adolescents is rising in Vietnam, according to Associate Professor Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, and Director of the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund (VNTCF).
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A 2023 report by the Vietnam Health Economics Association estimated that the total cost of tobacco-related healthcare and economic losses reached 108 trillion VND (4.14 billion USD) annually – equivalent to 1.14% of GDP and five times higher than the budget revenue generated by the tobacco industry.
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The groundbreaking ceremony took place one day after the VNVC Vaccine JS Company and Sanofi Group exchanged cooperation documents on vaccine production technology transfer under the witness of State President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vietnam’s traditional medicine took centre stage at the International Congress Biopharm Nonclinical Development, BioNCiD 2025, held on May 25-26 in the Cuban city of Varadero, amid growing global interest in sustainable healthcare solutions.
Under the agreement, VNVC and Sanofi will gradually implement technology transfers to enable domestic production of several key Sanofi vaccines that are widely used in Vietnam. In addition, Sanofi will support VNVC in training human resources and quality management in vaccine research and manufacturing.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 25,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded globally over the past month. Notably, from January 1 to May 10, Thailand reported nearly 54,000 infections and 16 deaths. The rise in cases in Thailand has been linked to the spread of XBB.1.16 subvariant.
Recently, HCM City has experienced a noticeable increase in COVID-19 cases, with 26 reported in just one week, compared to an average of only 1-2 cases weekly earlier this year.
Vu Dang Minh, Chief of the Office and Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Tobacco Control of the Ministry of Home Affairs speaks at the meeting. (Photo: //www.moha.gov.vn/) 
