Punish people who use children under 18 to sell cigarettes
In the coming time, competent units will develop guidance documents and strictly punish individuals and organizations that violate regulations prohibiting the use of people under 18 years old to sell cigarettes or selling cigarettes to people under 18 years old, and prohibiting the sale of cigarettes through vending machines.
Illustrative photo. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
The above content is included in the national strategy to prevent and combat the harmful effects of tobacco until 2020, which has just been approved by the Prime Minister.
The project will aim to reduce demand and control to gradually reduce the supply of tobacco products consumed in the Vietnamese market to reduce the risk of illness and death caused by tobacco use.
The project aims to reduce the smoking rate among adolescents (aged 15-24) from 26% in 2011 to 18% in 2020, and the smoking rate among men from 47% in 2011 to 39% in 2020, and among women to below 1.4% in 2020.
One of the main solutions proposed in the project is to develop a roadmap to adjust taxes and regulate minimum selling prices for cigarettes to limit the demand for cigarettes and control the sale of tobacco products.
Also according to the above Strategy, the Ministry of Health will coordinate with relevant departments to develop a program and master plan on information and communication on tobacco harm prevention and control and organize implementation to raise awareness and increase support from policy makers and the community on tobacco harm prevention and control.
The Steering Committee for the Tobacco Harm Prevention Program in provinces and centrally-run cities will also be studied and established with the participation of departments, branches, sectors, unions and social organizations.
The national strategy for tobacco harm prevention and control is implemented in two phases; phase 1 is from 2012-2015; phase 2 is from 2016-2020.
The financial solution to implement the project is to diversify funding sources to support tobacco harm prevention activities from various sources such as the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund; state budget; voluntary contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals./.
According to (Vietnam+) - LT
