Unidentified cigarette-shaped sweets and violent toys are being sold in front of many schools in Hanoi, threatening the health of pupils.
Cigarette-shaped sweets
Standing at the gate of Khuong Thuong Secondary School at the end of the academic day, Dan Tri reporters saw dozens of students buying the cigarette-shaped confectionary.
The sweet packs deliberately mimic the style of 555 cigarettes and carry the Chinese Kanghui brand name. A box of five sweet cigarettes costs just VND1,500 (USD0.072), and gives the impression that students are smoking the real thing.
The packaging is entirely in Chinese, but a translation reveals that they contain sugar, grape syrup, citric acid, additives and flavouring agents. They are produced in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China with a one-year shelf life but lack any information regarding their date of production.
Cigarette-shaped sweets are also sold around Trung Vuong Secondary and Cat Linh Primary schools. Other kinds of sweets are also on sale for just VND500 (USD0.024) per bar. At a mere glance there is nothing to distinguish these “cigarettes” from the real tobacco product.
A vendor near Khuong Thuong Secondary School said she bought the sweets from Dong Xuan Market, as they were very cheap prices and popular among boys.
Besides these sweets, other kinds of Chinese-produced items are also sold near many schools in Hanoi, including O Mai (salted or sugared dry apricots) and Vitamin C candy bars. The products are sold for VND2,000-VND3,000 (USD0.097-USD0.14).
Agencies and parents are concerned that the sale of cigarette-shaped sweets may encourage children to become smokers later in life.
According to Lawyer Vi Van Dien, Director of Thien Minh Law Firm, the Law on Food Safety prohibits the sale of goods such as sweets and toys without clear points of origin, brand or information written in Vietnamese on the packaging.
He suggested market inspection agencies step up their work, noting that schools should co-operate with authorities to manage shops located near their grounds to deal with potentially dangerous products.
Encouraging future smokers?
Sweet and other foods with no clear point of origin on sale around schools
