Each Vietnamese person drinks 6.6 liters of alcohol/year, leading to illness and traffic accidents.

To reduce the harmful effects of alcohol on human health, experts recommend the need to promulgate the Law on Prevention of Alcohol Harm.

This bill, if passed, will stipulate measures to prevent and combat the harmful effects of alcohol, beer and other alcoholic beverages (collectively referred to as alcohol and beer in this law), including: controlling and reducing the consumption of alcohol and beer; controlling the supply of alcohol and beer; reducing the harmful effects of alcohol and beer; ensuring resources to prevent and combat the harmful effects of alcohol and beer and improve public health.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son emphasized that the harmful effects of alcohol have been proven by scientists worldwide.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son. Photo: Health and Life.

Firstly, regarding diseases, there are 30 types of diseases directly related to alcohol, including many types of cancer such as digestive tract cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer...

30 diseases directly related to alcohol

“Another harmful effect of alcohol that I think many people in society understand is that most traffic accidents are related to alcohol. Alcohol is not only the cause of violence and abuse in the family, but also a problem related to the social community, so the issue of preventing the harmful effects of alcohol in the community is very necessary,” said Deputy Minister Son.

Most traffic accidents are also related to alcohol. Alcohol is not only the cause of violence and domestic abuse, but also a problem related to the social community, so the problem of preventing the harmful effects of alcohol in the community is very necessary.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son

Therefore, this Draft Law on Prevention of Alcohol Harm mentions the following contents: Reducing access to alcohol for all subjects, limiting the time and space of sale, and prohibiting the sale of alcohol in state agencies.

The Ministry of Health does not completely ban alcohol advertising in the media and online, but should limit access to people under 18 years old.

In addition, the bill also recommends the Government's policy on increasing alcohol taxes to avoid accessibility, especially for children and pregnant women.

Deputy Minister Son said that we should build policy mechanisms to help reduce the harmful effects of alcohol on users; at the same time, the national health program will be strengthened, people will be healthier and have a higher quality of life.

“WHO has calculated that spending one dollar on alcohol control brings the country 9.3 dollars. Therefore, I think we should think and reach consensus to build a practical, effective and strong enough Law on Alcohol Harm Prevention to limit the harmful effects of alcohol,” said Deputy Minister Son.

Drunk drivers have slow reactions and impaired vision, which can easily cause accidents.

In addition to causing a series of diseases in humans, alcohol consumption also increases the risk of traffic accidents for drivers, due to the body's slow reaction, limited coordination of activities, and affected vision. Alcohol consumption causes many consequences of aggression and violence.

The tragic traffic accident at Kim Lien Tunnel, Hanoi on the evening of April 30 was caused by a drunk driver, killing two women. Before that, another traffic accident was also caused by a driver who had drunk 5-7 glasses of beer, resulting in the tragic death of a female cleaner.

The tragic traffic accident at Kim Lien Tunnel, Hanoi on the evening of April 30 was caused by a drunk driver, killing two women. Before that, another traffic accident was also caused by a driver who drank 5-7 glasses of beer, causing the tragic death of a female cleaner.

Accordingly, 330 ml of draft beer with 4% alcohol content means 10 grams of alcohol. This amount of alcohol is similar to drinking a glass of 13.5% wine, similar to drinking a cup of strong alcohol (30 ml). Thus, there are no exceptions to the regulations on alcohol consumption in all types of drinks.

Whether it is wine or beer, when converted to pure alcohol concentration, they have the same mechanism of impact on health, so there needs to be control measures for the product to reduce harm.

Ms. Tran Thi Trang - Deputy Director of Legal Department, Ministry of Health,

Ms. Tran Thi Trang - Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Ministry of Health, emphasized that whether it is wine or beer, when converted to pure alcohol concentration, they have the same mechanism of impact on health, so it is necessary to have control measures for the product to reduce harm.

According to WHO guidelines, when converted to pure alcohol concentration, the amount of alcohol consumed causes the same harmful effects.

For example: Driving with a can of beer, a 30 ml glass of wine or a 15 ml glass of spirits, the concentration of pure alcohol is the same, all are fined and pose a risk of harm to other road users. Therefore, it cannot be said that beer is not as harmful as alcohol, so a control mechanism is needed.

According to experts from the Legal Department, experience in Thailand shows that after the introduction of alcohol control laws, traffic accidents have been reduced by 50% (75,000 cases), saving more than 6 billion dollars in costs to remedy the consequences.

The 2015 Infectious Disease Risk Survey found that 44% of alcohol drinkers in Vietnam binge drink, a dangerous form of drinking.

Alcohol use in Vietnam led to 79,000 deaths in 2016, with hundreds of thousands more hospitalized for alcohol-related treatment.

In Vietnam, the production of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages is increasing rapidly over the years while the world's is decreasing.

In 2015, Vietnam produced 3.4 billion liters of beer, 70 million liters of industrial alcohol and about 250 million liters of craft alcohol.

The rate of alcohol consumption in our country is at an alarming level. On average, each Vietnamese person consumes about 6.6 liters of alcohol/person/year, the rate of men and adolescents using alcohol is high, in which the rate of men using alcohol at harmful levels is an alarming issue.