E-cigarette Use Doubles among Students Aged 13-15 in Vietnam
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported that the rate of e-cigarette usage among students aged 13-15 has more than doubled from 3.5% in 2022 to 8% in 2023.
The health ministry announced the figure while issuing a document to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities regarding the organization of activities in response to World No Tobacco Day on May 31, National No Tobacco Week on May 25-31, and the reinforcement of enforcement of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms.
The Ministry of Health urged localities to implement the directives of the Prime Minister in Dispatch 47 dated May 13, regarding the enhanced management of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
The Prime Minister instructed the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to direct authorities at all levels to regularly inspect and handle violations, strictly penalize smuggling, transportation, storage, and trading of unauthorized e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in the Vietnamese market.
Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Thuan stated that the ten-year summary report on the enforcement of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms shows that due to many efforts in tobacco harm prevention, the prevalence of smoking conventional cigarettes among adult males has decreased by an average of 0.5% annually from 47.4% in 2010 to 38.9% in 2023.