Vietnam wins awards for global tobacco control

The Ministry of Health has won a 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control held on March 7 in South Africa.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien (in blue long dress) receives the 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control in South Africa on March 7

The conference on Tobacco or Health was held at Cape Town International Convention Center. 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control saw the presence of over 2,000 representatives from 100 countries. As of January 2018, 181 countries plus the European Union became parties to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which is the backdrop of the conference. Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien led the Vietnam team to the conference.

Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that tobacco had caused serious damage to the health, economy, environment, education and equality. It was also an obstacle to stable development and national leaders must carry out strict measures to limit smoking.

While the effort to control smoking saved nearly 35 million people in the past years, the tobacco industry is also trying to find new and young customers. Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year.

The 2018 winners highlight the progress being made to control tobacco use and show the effectiveness of the MPOWER strategies. One winner is chosen for each of the following categories: Monitoring of tobacco use and prevention policies; Protecting people from tobacco smoke; Offering help to stop using tobacco; Warnings about the dangers of tobacco; Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and raising taxes on tobacco.

Vietnam was honoured and given USD100,000 for its achievements in the monitoring of tobacco use and prevention policies category.

In the past years, the ministry has collaborated with agencies to raise a fund and draft a law on the prevention and control of tobacco harms. For example, cigarette companies are required to print graphic images illustrating the harmful effects of smoking on their packages and advertisements and discount programmes for tobacco are banned.

The Fund on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms has helped many people to quit smoking and raise public awareness.

A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, General Statistics Office of Vietnam, World Health Organisation, and US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention shows that smoking rate among male adults downed by 2% to 45.3%. The passive smoking rates at workplaces and homes decreased to 42.6% and 59.9% respectively. The passive smoking rates at public transports and schools also decreased to 19.4% and 37.9% respectively.