Stronger policy needed to prevent youths from smoking e-cigarettes
It is essential to issue a stronger policy to prevent the use of e-cigarettes among youths, heard a meeting held by the Health Ministry’s Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund in Hanoi on April 7.
Hanoi (VNA) – It is essential to issue a stronger policy to preventthe use of e-cigarettes among youths, heard a meeting held by the HealthMinistry’s Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund in Hanoi on April 7.
The event saw the participation of foreign experts andpartners who have for many years been advocating and supporting the preventionand control of tobacco harms in Vietnam.
Associate Prof., Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the HealthMinistry's Department for Medical Examination and Treatment, said that smokingis one of the main causes of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovasculardisease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. Currently, the high rate of patients withcancer and stroke caused by the harmful effects of tobacco is a burden of thewhole society. Therefore, the prevention and control of tobacco harms to reducediseases and mortality caused by the use of tobacco products remains a topurgent task.
According to experts, the rate of e-cigarette smokers in the age group of between 13-17 is 2.6 percent, while that in the age group of between 15-24 yearsold is 7.3 percent. Therefore, without a strong policy to prevent the use ofe-cigarettes and new types of tobacco, the figure will increase sharply in thenear future.
During the event, both domestic and foreign experts and partnersdiscussed a national strategy on the prevention and control of tobacco harms inthe new situation.
They exchanged views on how to improve the smoking cessationconsultation and treatment, prevent new kinds of cigarettes, and step up the implementationof regulations related to non-smoking areas, advertisement, promotion andsponsoring./.
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A man smoking e-cigarette (Photo: VNA) 
