Vietnam ranks 15th in the world in smoking rates. Vietnamese smokers are estimated to spend VND49 trillion a year on cigarettes. Calculated at the current exchange rate of RMB and Vietnamese Dong of 3400, it is about 14.4 billion yuan.

Hu Honghai, deputy director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam, said that Vietnam is not yet a developed country, but the proportion of smokers ranks 15th in the world, that is, there are about 15.6 million smokers.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, the Tobacco Harm Prevention Foundation of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, tobacco use is one of the leading causes of disease and premature death. Tobacco contains 7,000 chemicals, including 69 carcinogens, and is a major cause of 25 diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory and reproductive diseases.

At the same time, the treatment costs of 5 types of diseases (lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, upper respiratory tract cancer, chronic obstructive lung cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke) among the 25 diseases caused by tobacco accounted for 1% of Vietnam's GDP. This ratio is also very high globally, between 1-2%.

Recently, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health drafted a document to solicit opinions from all parties, and plans to adjust the medical service charging standards of primary hospitals from 2023. Among them, the daily inspection and hospitalization fees per bed in special and first-class public hospitals can be charged up to 3 million VND (880 yuan) per day, which does not include medical expenses and medical technical services-this move has caused controversy. Few Vietnamese netizens bombarded that the standard was too high.

Tobacco disease kills more than 40,000 people in Vietnam every year. If Vietnam does not effectively prevent tobacco harm, this number will increase to 70,000 cases per year by 2030. Tobacco kills nearly four times as many people in Vietnam each year as road traffic accidents.

In addition, it should be noted that the proportion of smoking among Vietnamese adults is declining, but the proportion of women smoking is showing signs of growth.

In addition, the proportion of new smokers in Vietnam is also a very disturbing figure, although not high, it is rapidly increasing among young people. The new smoking rate in 2020 has increased by 18 times compared with 2015, from 0.2% to 3.6%, of which the increase has been 14 times for men and 10 times for women.

Angela Pratt, the WHO representative in Vietnam, said tobacco in Vietnam was unbelievably cheap.

"With the current price of tobacco in Vietnam, it is difficult to become an obstacle for young people to develop smoking habits." The Vietnam representative of the WHO believes that raising tobacco taxes will be the fastest and most economical way to limit current smoking.

The economic loss caused by tobacco in Vietnam is estimated to exceed 24 trillion VND (7 billion yuan) per year. These losses include the cost of disease treatment, losses caused by incapacity due to diseases, and losses caused by premature deaths from smoking in Vietnam.

According to Vietnam's current law, the consumption tax on tobacco is equivalent to 70% of the ex-factory price. However, when taxes on retail prices are calculated by international standards, Vietnam's share (including VAT) is only around 35.6%. This ratio is well below the world average of 56%, and lower than most ASEAN countries.

According to WHO estimates, if tobacco prices rise by 10%, average tobacco consumption will drop by 4% in high-income countries and 5% in low- and middle-income countries.

In particular, raising tobacco taxes has been particularly effective in reducing smoking among minors. It is expected that when tobacco taxes are raised, raising prices by 10%, consumption by this group will also decline by 10% or more.

Another important thing is to increase tobacco tax and increase national fiscal revenue. According to WHO estimates, governments around the world could collect an additional US$141 billion in tobacco taxes if the price of cigarettes increased by an average of US$0.80 per pack.

From the contribution of consumption tax to the national budget, it can be seen that tobacco products account for a large proportion, accounting for about 18.56% during the period 2012-2020.

Vietnam's tobacco consumption tax revenue has increased from 11.93 trillion VND in 2012 to 14.26 trillion VND in 2020. At the same time, in 2020, the tax payment of enterprises in the tobacco industry will reach 18.5 trillion VND, and in 2021 this figure will exceed 20 trillion VND.

Therefore, many experts in Vietnam suggest that tobacco taxes need to be increased.

Separately, Vietnam's Ministry of Health has proposed banning all new types of tobacco.

In addition to traditional tobacco, experts also believe that the new generation of tobacco is sought after by young people and should be banned. In addition, Chen Shizhuang, deputy director of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, said that new types of cigarettes, including electronic cigarettes and low-temperature cigarettes (heat-not-burn cigarettes), mainly enter Vietnam through smuggling and entry.

These new tobacco products are quite popular on social networks, and Vietnamese consumers can easily buy them illegally on the Internet (e-commerce platforms) and social networking sites.

"However, at present, Vietnam's "Tobacco Hazard Prevention Law" does not have clear regulations on electronic cigarettes and low-temperature cigarettes, only the "National Technical Specifications for Tobacco" promulgated by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam. E-cigarettes and low-temperature cigarettes,” said Chen Shizhuang.

Regarding e-cigarettes, Vietnam has not officially approved its business operations, but e-cigarettes are being sold publicly and widely marketed on e-commerce and social media, and Vietnam's "Tobacco Harm Prevention Law" does not work on this.

In front of a large office building on Le Duan Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, the author saw a group of people gathered in the front hall of the office building, smoking and chatting while smoking. Among them, two men were smoking electronic cigarettes, and a woman was smoking cryogenics cigarette. After questioning, it was learned that they had been smoking for more than 5 years and had recently turned to electronic cigarettes and low-temperature cigarettes.

Every cigarette is harmful, but these e-cigarettes that claim to adopt new technologies are considered different from the usual burning cigarettes, and are considered to be less toxic than traditional cigarettes. A friend in his 40s who has smoked for more than 5 years That, he said, was the reason he turned to vaping.

However, he used to rely on acquaintances to buy from Europe, and occasionally asked friends to help overseas purchases, but recently many e-cigarettes sold online are flooded and the quality is unknown. He is uneasy about the quality of e-cigarettes on the current rampant black market.

Recently, a survey conducted by a Vietnamese media on more than 2,000 people showed that the proportion of Vietnamese who know or use electronic cigarettes is as high as 97%. Previously, in August 2022, another Vietnamese media survey showed that 70% of 2,000 18-year-old traditional cigarette smokers said that if it is beneficial to themselves and the community, they are willing to transition to alternative products, such as e-cigarettes, to reduce the harm of smoking cigarettes.

At present, many platforms in Vietnam can buy e-cigarettes, and express delivery has not included e-cigarettes in the embargo list, but perhaps in the near future, new regulations for this sector will be introduced.

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