Up to 95% of tobacco shops nationwide were found to have violated advertising and promotion laws, according to a survey by Hanoi School of Public Health on 1,500 shops.
Most tobacco shops violate advertising laws
The survey, carried from 2009 to 2011 on the tobacco shops in 10 cities and provinces, showed that the rate of violators has been on the rise.
According to the university, all surveyed shops in Haiphong, Khanh Hoa and HCM City display more than the permitted number of one pack of tobacco for each brand.
After the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms took effect on May 1, tobacco vendors have used a number of tricks to evade the law. Meanwhile, many tobacco shop owners remain unaware of the regulation.
Despite the ban, tobacco marketing is popularly seen at beer bars and cafes and shops in Hanoi. Scantily-clad girls are also routinely used to sell tobacco products.
Nguyen Huy Quang, Head of the Ministry of Health’s Legal Department said that, to date, only three individuals have been fined a total VND1 million (USD47.6) due for smoking in hospitals. According to him, besides applying the fine, violators should be expelled from the public place where they smoked. This measure is proposed for cases where authorities are not available to deal with the violation.
He also said that the fine should be doubled to VND100,000-300,000 from the current level that has been in place since 2005.
