Vietnam: 47 million people regularly inhale secondhand smoke

Vietnam is one of the 15 countries with the highest smoking rate in the world, with one in every two adult males smoking. In particular, up to 47 million people are regularly exposed to passive smoking at home. The phenomenon of underage smoking in our country is also quite common. How to prevent “predicted deaths” due to smoking is a question that is not easy to answer.

Cigarettes: Besieged from work to home

Although the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms took effect on May 1, clearly stipulating penalties for smoking in public places, it has had little effect on many men addicted to tobacco.

Ms. Ha Thu, who works at a state agency on Tran Hung Dao Street (Hanoi) was upset: “There are 3 men in my room, 2 of whom are addicted to smoking. Before, they smoked freely in the room. The women were very upset but were afraid to give their opinions. Recently, a woman in the room got pregnant so she asked them not to smoke in the room. Since then, they only leave the room when they smoke. However, sometimes the smell of cigarettes still creeps into the room, when they go out to smoke in the hallway…”

Women and children are most affected by secondhand smoke.

Not only at work, many people are also surrounded by cigarette smoke at home. Many men are not aware of taking care of their own health, but are also unconscious of the health of other family members, especially the elderly, children, and women. Mrs. Hanh's family (Trung Kinh, Cau Giay, Hanoi) has a husband and son who both smoke. Mrs. Hanh said that the two men in her family can smoke anywhere, even in the bedroom. Married for 32 years, Mrs. Hanh has had to inhale secondhand smoke from her husband for that many years. Perhaps because of being infected with the smoking habit from his father, her son started smoking as soon as he entered adolescence and is now addicted to cigarettes. When her son got married and had a small child, Mrs. Hanh advised her husband and son not to smoke in front of children, but the two only avoided smoking when the child was in the room, otherwise they still smoked freely. Ms. Hanh complained: “Recently, I often have chest tightness and cough a lot. I don’t know if it’s because of long-term cigarette smoke…”.

Cigarette smoke: Enemy of health

According to research by the Ministry of Health, Vietnam is among the 15 countries with the highest number of tobacco users in the world. The current rate of cigarette and tobacco smoking (total population aged 15 and over) is 23.8%, equivalent to 15.3 million people. Among adults, the smoking rate among men is 47.4% and among women is 1.4%. The age group with the highest smoking rate is the working age group (25 to 50 years old). Notably, adolescents start using tobacco early and have easy access to tobacco.

The rate of passive smoking in our country is very high: the rate of exposure to cigarette smoke at home is 67.6% and at work is 49.0%. In particular, the rate of exposure to cigarette smoke at home for women is nearly 70%, and for children is nearly 50%.

Many people smoke in public places.

Smoking is very harmful to human health - Many smokers know this fact, but sadly, they often ignore this danger to indulge their own interests. According to research, smoking is the cause of 25 diseases, including many dangerous diseases such as: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis and other diseases (nasopharyngeal cancer, skin cancer, osteoporosis, laryngeal cancer, bronchial cancer, cataracts, stomach ulcers, impotence, reduced fertility...) because cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including nicotine, which is addictive, and about 70 substances that are carcinogenic, typically substances such as tar, benzene, carbon monoxide... Smokers have a risk of death 2.5 to 10 times higher than non-smokers. In Vietnam, for men, tobacco is the leading cause of premature death, accounting for nearly 11% of total deaths.

Passive smoking is one of the factors that cause many cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, reduce respiratory function and affect reproductive function in both men and women. Passive smoking increases the risk of heart disease by 25-30%, lung disease by 25% and increases the risk of stroke by 82%...

Smoking: Behavior that needs severe punishment

According to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, effective from May 1, 2013, smokers are obliged to: Not smoke in places where smoking is prohibited; Not smoke indoors when there are children, pregnant women, sick people, or the elderly; Maintain public hygiene, and dispose of cigarette butts and ashes in designated places when smoking in places where smoking is permitted.

The law also clearly stipulates places where smoking is completely prohibited indoors and within the premises such as medical facilities; educational facilities; childcare, nurturing, entertainment and recreation facilities specifically for children; facilities or areas with high risk of fire and explosion. Places where smoking is completely prohibited indoors include: workplaces; colleges, universities, academies; public places; public transport where smoking is completely prohibited including cars, airplanes, trains, etc.

According to the Draft Decree on administrative sanctions for violations in the health sector (drafted by the Ministry of Health) expected to take effect from July 1, a warning or fine of VND100,000 to VND300,000 will be imposed for one of the following acts: Smoking in prohibited areas; discarding cigarette butts in the wrong place when smoking in areas where smoking is permitted...

A warning or a fine of VND100,000 to VND300,000 will be imposed for using, buying or selling tobacco when under 18 years of age; a fine of VND500,000 to VND2 million will be imposed for one of the following acts: selling or supplying tobacco to people under 18 years of age; employing people under 18 years of age to sell tobacco; not posting a sign stating that tobacco is not sold to people under 18 years of age...

Regulations and penalties are in place, however, according to many health experts and lawyers, punishing smoking in public places will be difficult because this behavior is very common in our country. There are few people with the authority to impose penalties while there are many violators, and the violations occur over a wide area.

The most important thing to reduce smoking in public places, smoking in front of others... is the awareness of each smoker. In particular, they must realize that smoking is harmful to their own health, then they will think about the health of those around them.

In Vietnam, among the four leading causes of death, tobacco ranks second after HIV, followed by alcohol and traffic accidents. The World Health Organization estimates that each year in Vietnam, about 40,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases, and if no timely measures are taken, by 2030, this number will increase to 70,000 people (nearly four times the number of deaths from road traffic accidents in our country each year).

According to (GD&TĐ) -LH