Smoking in Vietnam
Smoking is legally allowed in Vietnam but there are some restrictions in place for tobacco products including cigarettes. Based on these regulations, the sale of cigarettes is legal, and importing them for trade is allowed with a license. Tobacco advertising is regulated, enforcing a complete ban on all forms of advertising. Purchasing cigarettes online is permitted; however, sales from vending machines are prohibited. Additionally, the law requires health warnings on all tobacco packaging, sets a minimum legal age of 18 years for sales, and includes legal restrictions on smoking in public places such as healthcare and educational facilities. A total taxation rate of 34.32% is applied on cigarettes, with no specific excise rate. The prevalence of tobacco smoking among individuals aged 15 years and older in Vietnam has shown significant figures according to available data. The number of current tobacco smokers was approximately 15.8 million in 2024. The adult smoking prevalence indicates a stark gender disparity, with 41.8% of males and only 0.8% of females reported as current smokers. The overall current prevalence of smoking was 20.6%. This marks a slight decrease compared to previous years. In 2020, the overall smoking prevalence was 23.8%, with a prevalence of 47.3% among males and 1.2% among females. For reference, the adult daily smoking prevalence in 2017 was 18.7%, with a prevalence of 37.6% among males and 0.8% among females. Tobacco smoking has shown to have substantial impacts on mortality rates in Vietnam. In 2021, smoking-related deaths accounted for 14.32% of all deaths in the country. Males had a significantly more deaths with 21.5%, compared to 4.69% among females. The annual number of deaths attributable to smoking reached over 100,000, including 86,291 male and 14,050 female deaths. These statistics underscore the public health challenge posed by tobacco smoking in Vietnam and necessitate concerted efforts in reducing smoking prevalence and its health impacts.
Read articles from Vietnam
November 29, 2023 by vietnamplus.vn
Laos to list electronic cigarettes among addictive substances
Laos plans to amend and supplement certain provisions of the law on drug prevention and control, with electronic cigarettes to be included in the list of substances and precursors classified as addictive. Speaking at the 9th Lao National Assembly’s 6th session, General Vilay Lakhamphong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security, stressed that electronic cigarettes, one of the emerging issues of social concerns, are yet to be listed as prohibited substances. Therefore, in the near future, they will be added to the list of products containing banned addictive substances and precursors.
November 23, 2023 by vietnamnews.vn
E-cigarettes must be banned in Việt Nam: workshop
Electronic nicotine delivery, known as e-cigarettes, must be completely banned in Việt Nam, said Dr Nguyễn Trung Nguyên, director of the Poison Control Centre under Bạch Mai Hospital at a workshop in Hà Nội on Thursday. Nguyên said the chemical and drug composition of e-cigarettes is much more complex than that of traditional cigarettes. Synthetic marijuana existing in e-cigarettes has become the largest, most complex and most challenging drug type. He said it is necessary to immediately ban e-cigarettes in Việt Nam without any trial basis.
July 24, 2023 by vnexpress.net
Cigarettes in Vietnam are too cheap
The price of cigarettes in Australia is sky-high because they are taxed so high. To buy a pack of cigarettes for 25 Australian dollars ($16.82), you have to pay tax up to 18 Australian dollars. The price of a pack of cheap cigarettes in Thailand is 89 baht ($2.59). A pack of cigarettes in Vietnam cost VND6,000-20,000 ($0.25-0.85). At my office in Vietnam, there is a gathering place for smoking. Many of the smokers are young men in their 20s.
March 09, 2023 by thestar.com.my
E-cigarette use among teens on the rise in Vietnam
The prevalence of e-cigarette use among Vietnamese teens has increased in recent years as among 13-15 year olds [...]
The Ministry of Health noted a concerning uptake of e-cigarettes, particularly among adolescents and young adults with about seven in 100 aged between 15 and 24 using e-cigarettes.
Despite a slight reduction of people who smoked tobacco in 2022, down 0.8 percent from 2015, Vietnam is ranked third among South-East Asian countries with the highest smoking prevalence, only after Indonesia and the Philippines, according to the Ministry of Health.
March 12, 2021 by lexology.com
Vietnam - tobacco production and distribution under local and international regulations
In Vietnam, the Government holds a monopoly on the importation of cigarettes and cigars, except import for sales as duty-free goods. The market size remains stable with over 100 billions cigarettes per year since 2015, in which around 60% is Vietnamese products, around 22% is foreign products made in Vietnam and 18% is illegally imported products. As of 2018, the cigarettes and cigars industry has contributed USD 450 millions to the State budget
There are currently 16 Vietnamese cigarette manufacturers with Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation (Vinataba) being a prominent unit in the production, distribution and trading scene. [...]
January 20, 2021 by vietnamplus.vn
E-cigarette use on the rise: Expert
Vietnam has seen certain achievements made in tobacco harm prevention and control but challenges continue to emerge, including the increasing trend of smoking e-cigarettes, Associate Professor and Dr Luong Ngoc Khue has said. A decline has been recorded in smoking in public places like schools, offices, and public transport; a behaviour subject to increasing objections from the community. Smoking is now almost never seen at meetings, weddings, or funerals.
November 16, 2020 by vietnamplus.vn
Vietnam needs framework for new-generation cigarettes, say experts
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam should not legalise the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated-tobacco-products (HTPs) immediately but conduct a pilot phase allowing the production, import and trading of this new-generation cigarettes in the country, officials have said.
Representatives from various agencies of the Government were speaking at a workshop on the legal framework for new-generation cigarettes in Vietnam, [...]
The representatives said e-cigarettes and HTPs were the result of the global application of technology and still very new to Vietnam's tobacco industry and regulators.
August 12, 2020 by vietnamplus.vn
Ministry of Health sounds alarm over e-cigarettes
The Ministry of Health has called for a crackdown on illegal new modern cigarettes advertising and trading via e-commerce and social networks.
The ministry recommended the ministries of Public Security, Culture, Sports and Tourism and Information and Communications, as well as the General Department of Customs strengthen inspections into the products.
Tran Thi Trang, Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Department, at the Ministry of Health, has said the new cigarettes are products that cannot be advertised, imported or traded in Vietnam.
April 16, 2020 by vapingpost.com
Vietnam: WHO Rep. Spreads Misinformation and Proposes E-Cig Ban
Speaking at a seminar on new-generation tobacco regulations held by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, Nguyen Tuan Lam, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, inaccurately stated that e-cigarettes are encouraging teens to start smoking. Lam cited a study which allegedly found that the number of teens who vaped before switching to smoking had more than tripled. Interestingly the vast majority of scientific research indicates the exact opposite, but sadly the WHO remains set on its rigid nonsensical stance. [...]
March 09, 2020 by vietnamnet.vn
Experts propose banning electronic cigarettes in Vietnam
Speaking at the seminar on new-generation tobacco management policy held by the Ministry of Health on March 5, Nguyen Tuan Lam, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, said that electronic cigarettes, instead of acting as a tool to help smokers wean off combustible cigarettes, were encouraging youths to start smoking. Tran Thi Trang, deputy head of the Ministry of Health’s Legal Department, said that the department will propose the Government impose a ban on the sale, production and import of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.