From WIRE REPORTS
Viet Nam has passed a law banning
smoking in public places and all tobacco advertising, an official said Tuesday.
The law, passed by 440 out of 468
national assembly deputies, also makes it illegal to sell tobacco products to
anyone under 18 years old, said the parliamentary official, who did not want to
be named.
It will take effect beginning next
May, state media said.
Smoking in public places ― including
schools, hospitals, office buildings and on public transport ― was banned
already in 2010 by a government decree, which also raised taxes on tobacco and
restricted the sale of cigarettes.
But that order was widely ignored,
with smoking in public places widespread and cigarettes available at small
kiosks on nearly every street in the capital Ha Noi.
The anti-smoking campaign group
Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) welcomed the new law ― the
full text of which has not yet been released ― saying it was a “historic
and important milestone” for the country.
“We are very happy about this
development,” SEATCA director Bungon Ritthiphakdee said, adding that the
final version of the law was strong and in line with the WHO-Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control.
According to SEATCA, there are
currently 15.3 million smokers in Viet Nam. Some 47.4 percent of adult males
smoke.
Tobacco kills 40,000 people per year
in Viet Nam and that figure is expected to rise to 70,000 per year by 2030,
according to local media reports.
