With the increase in adolescent usage of e-cigarettes, Vietnam plans to ban these products starting next year. Despite being known as a country relatively lenient towards tobacco, the Vietnamese government has decided to strengthen related laws due to the recent surge in e-cigarette use among youths.
According to local media reports like VN Express, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved a resolution with 96% of attending members voting in favor. The resolution aims to protect public health by prohibiting the production, sale, import, storage, transport, and use of e-cigarettes.
Following the resolution, the Vietnamese government is required to devise and implement specific measures to curb e-cigarette usage. The National Assembly urged the government to enforce the ban and raise awareness about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, especially among younger generations.
Previously, on November 11, Vietnam’s Health Minister Dao Hong Lan argued in the National Assembly that e-cigarettes are harmful to health and should be banned, proposing amendments to this effect. Minister Lan highlighted the rapid increase in the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, particularly among adolescents, posing potential health and safety risks.
Data from 2020 indicated that the e-cigarette usage rate among adults over 14 in Vietnam jumped from 0.2% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2020, with the highest rate among those aged 15-24. The Ministry of Health provides warnings that despite e-cigarettes not being traditional tobacco, they have high nicotine levels, are addictive, and can cause serious diseases like cancer.
Although tobacco control regulations in Vietnam are less stringent than in countries like Korea, the enforcement of a ban might result in penalties for e-cigarette use, potentially leading to the prohibition of bringing e-cigarettes into Vietnam.
On a global scale, tobacco regulations are also becoming stricter. Recently, the UK passed legislation prohibiting tobacco sales to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009. This legislation, which has passed through the lower house, will prevent those born after this date from purchasing tobacco even when they reach adulthood.