National Assembly Delegate: Create a drinking culture, not wait to punish

On October 11, the 11th plenary session of the Committee on Social Affairs took place in Da Nang to collect opinions from National Assembly deputies on the draft Law on Prevention of Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer before submitting it to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

The draft law, drafted by the Ministry of Health, includes many regulations such as banning the sale of alcohol to people under 18 years old; banning the advertising of alcohol with an alcohol content of 15 degrees or higher... Although it has been discussed before, at this meeting the bill continued to receive mixed reactions.

Delegate Luu Binh Nhuong said that alcohol and beer are not the objects of regulation, but here it is people. Alcohol and beer have had their own life for thousands of years. Therefore, we must create a healthy cultural life, not a poison that must be avoided or eliminated. And officials and civil servants must be role models in limiting alcohol and beer consumption.

"The law prohibits civil servants, public employees and workers from drinking alcohol during working hours, but is it a violation of the law to drink alcohol when conducting foreign affairs?", Mr. Nhuong wondered.

Regarding the feasibility of the law, Mr. Nhuong said that it is necessary to clarify who is prohibited, the scope, which subjects, who is assigned to implement it, and what the mechanism is. In addition, it is necessary to clarify the concept of "abuse" and which subject is abusive.

"If the law is not feasible, the whole society will lose a lot of effort and money," he said, emphasizing the need to build a culture of drinking alcohol, because that is what society needs, not just "waiting to punish".

Delegate Nguyen Quang Tuan - Director of Hanoi Heart Hospital, commented that the ban on civil servants drinking alcohol at noon is effective. The health of civil servants is also better thanks to it.

Consider the timing of the law

Mr. Tuan also said that increasing taxes to create financial barriers to warn about the harmful effects of beer and wine will have the negative side of smuggling and illegal production of these products.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board, said that if there is no solution to prevent and combat smuggled alcohol, the law will not be effective when passed or will only be controlled but not officially. "If people's awareness has not reached anywhere, the law will not have any effect," she said.

In fact, alcohol and beer are controlled by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but when there are consequences, the Ministry of Health will intervene, similar to the Law on Prevention of Tobacco Harms. Ms. Lan proposed that when confiscated smuggled goods must be destroyed, because re-exporting them will return to the people. At that time, honest businesses that accept paying high taxes and limiting advertising will find it difficult to do business.

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Social Affairs Nguyen Hoang Mai is concerned about the feasibility of the regulation requiring warnings on wine and beer packaging and labels. Manufacturers will not know how to write warnings, how many glasses of wine or how many bottles of beer are safe to drink.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Xuan - Deputy of the National Assembly delegation of Can Tho city, suggested that the law should not be issued at this time because it will affect the whole society. "My opinion is that we should issue a Decree first, then continue to consider it," he said.

Vietnam is the world's leading consumer of beer and alcohol.

Receiving opinions from delegates, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien affirmed: "The law drafting committee will make appropriate adjustments so that the National Assembly can pass the Law on Prevention of Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer as soon as possible."

Ms. Tien said that the purpose of drafting the law is to protect people's health by reducing consumption and controlling advertising, not to destroy the production system and culinary culture. Currently, more than 100 countries have this law, including the countries that are the home of wine production in the world.

The Minister of Health said that Vietnam is the world's leading consumer of beer and alcohol. Diseases caused by beer and alcohol are also numerous. Meanwhile, people's income is still low.

In the short term, the restriction on alcohol and beer is to reduce traffic accidents. Ms. Tien hopes that when the law is passed, it will be effective. "If there was no Law on Prevention of Tobacco Harm 5 years ago, the death rate due to tobacco would still be very high," she said.

Regarding the scope of the law, Ms. Tien commented that it will affect many organizations and individuals, especially businesses in the issue of not being able to advertise too much, not being able to sell 24/7, etc. However, the law does not prohibit production, does not affect business, but only tries to reduce people's access to alcohol and beer.

In many consultations, the law drafting committee has accepted and considered removing the regulation prohibiting the sale of alcohol on the Internet. Instead, the law should be more reasonable and feasible in order to effectively manage the sale of alcohol on the Internet.