Seventy percent of the Vietnamese population are directly or indirectly affected by drink problem. (Photo: tienphong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Health(MoH) is discussing regulations to restrict the number of hours to sellalcohol.
At a recent conference on the draft law on alcohol consequencesprevention hosted by the MoH, hours of alcohol sales was the main subject ofdiscussion. Therein, three plans have been proposed.
First, alcohol can only be sold from 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 10pmevery day, except at international terminals of airports and on tourism andentertainment streets.
Second, alcohol can only be sold from 6am to 10pm every day,except at international terminals and on tourism and entertainment streets.
Third, the hours of alcohol sales will be regulated by thegovernment in necessary cases based on the demand of the draft law.
The MoH will choose the solution with majority votes.
Nguyen Huy Quang, Director of the MoH’s Legal ServicesDepartment, said the law aims to control the demand for alcohol, come up withsolutions to reduce the consumption of alcohol, tighten the management ofalcohol supply, prevent the consequences of alcoholism and improve publichealth. The draft law is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly inOctober.
Quang blamed alcohol consumption for the increasing number oftraffic accidents among male drivers aged 14 to 49. Thus, to improve trafficsafety, the draft law proposes ban on drinking and driving by drivers of allvehicles, including cars, tractors, specialised motorbikes, airplanes, trainsand waterways transport.
Regarding other motorbikes, MoH has proposed two plans.
The first one prohibits motorcycle drivers from having analcohol concentration exceeding 30mg per 100ml blood or 0.15mg per every litreof breath when riding motorcycles. The current regulation stipulates alcoholconcentration to not exceed 50-80mg per 100ml blood or 0.25-0.4mg per everylitre of breath for motorcycle riders.
The second plan proposes complete ban on alcohol while driving.
According to medical experts, a concentration of 50mg of alcoholper 100ml starts to poison the nervous system.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said up to 70percent of the Vietnamese were directly or indirectly affected by the drinkingproblem. He said the consequences of alcohol consumption were much greater thanthe profit it brought.
“Alcohol is ranked fifth among the top 15 health risk factorsleading to traumatic injury, mental disorders, cirrhosis, cardiovasculardisease and cancer,” he said.
There are nearly 20 countries that prohibit drivers fromdrinking and driving and some 20 others that allow an alcohol concentration ofup to 20mg per 100ml of blood.-VNA
VNA
