Reporters share experiences in writing about tobacco prevention
Vietnamese reporters and editors were equipped with skills and information to improve their writings about long-term harmful effects of tobacco and the need to raise the tax on tobacco at a conference held in Hanoi on September 25.
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese reporters and editors were equipped withskills and information to improve their writings about long-term harmfuleffects of tobacco and the need to raise the tax on tobacco at a conferenceheld in Hanoi on September 25.
Jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications andHealthbridge Foundation of Canada, the event was part of activities to realiseDecision No.229/QD-TTg approving the national strategy on tobacco harmprevention and control until 2020, and Decision No.517/QD-BTTTT on issuing planto organise conference providing information and skill training for reportersof both central and local press agencies.
International efforts to prevent tobacco harms, benefits of tobacco taxes, andthe World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommendations were updated at theevent. In addition, public opinion on the increase in tobacco taxes as well asresults of the research on the impacts of tobacco tax hike on business and jobsin Vietnam were also under spotlight.
Reporters joining the event shared their experience in approaches and ways toconduct effective writings on smoking prevention.
Tobacco prevention has received extensive coverage of the domestic media in thepast years. However, many writings fail to update readers on the latestinformation on the issue.
Statistics from the WHO showed that tobacco is one of the biggest public healththreats the world has ever faced, killing 7.1 million people a year, including900,000 deaths by diseases caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. Smoking alsocosts the world around 1.4 trillion USD.
According to Jun Nakagawa, deputy chief of the WHO Office in Vietnam, 40,000people die from smoking every year and the figure is forecast to reach 70,000 by2033 if the country takes no strong measures.
In Vietnam, smoking also causes economic losses of more than 24 trillion VND (1.03billion USD) in treatment and labour loss every year.
More than 47 percent of Vietnamese men smoke and as many as 30 million peopleare regularly exposed to smoking every day. The high rate of smoking wastriggered by the country’s low tax levied on tobacco. The tax per retail pricein Vietnam is 36 percent, compared to the world average of 56 percent and theWHO’s recommendation of 70 percent.-VNA
Although progress has been made in tobacco control, more efforts are needed on anti-tobacco measures and reduction of deaths related to smoking in Vietnam.
Support hotlines have been set up and a tax hike has been mooted to tackle smoking in Vietnam, where more than 100 people are killed by smoking-related diseases per day.
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Raising tobacco taxes could help reduce smoking and the harm it causes to women and children, experts said at a workshop held in Hanoi early this week.
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At the conference (Photo: VNA) 
