Hanoi (VNA) – A three-month social media campaign againstsmoking was launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam inpartnership with key tobacco control partners in Hanoi on September 27.

Themed “#Respect,” the campaign aims to promote a smoke-freeenvironment to protect and improve public health.

It calls on everyone, smokers and non-smokers, to respect the law ontobacco control and respect their and others’ health by ending indoor smokingat public spaces to prevent exposure to second-hand smoke.

The hashtag #Respect was created to help people spread anti-smokingmessages on social networks and the public is encouraged to support thecampaign by sharing posts, making supportive comments and creatingtobacco-related stories with the hashtag.

The campaign’s launch coincided with the third United NationsHigh-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in New York. “This way, we also aim to highlight how smoking remainsone of the leading causes of NCDs, and call for political commitment and publicsupport to address the challenge,” said Dr Kidong Park, WHO Representative inVietnam.

#Respect is a collaborative campaign among organisationschampioning tobacco-free initiatives in the country. Joining the WHO are Campaignfor Tobacco-Free Kids (TFK), Community Research and Development Services (CDS),the Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN), Hanoi University ofPublic Health (HUPH), HealthBridge Vietnam, Thuongmai University, VietnamPublic Health Association (VPHA) and Vital Strategies.

"There is no safe level of exposure tosecond-hand tobacco smoke," said Tom Carroll, Senior Advisor, Policy,Advocacy and Communication, Vital Strategies. "Engaging social media usersand encouraging non-smokers to speak up will help improve compliance withVietnam's smoke-free laws, protecting the health of smokers and non-smokers,especially women and children.”

According to the WHO, some 40,000 people in Vietnam die each year from tobacco-relateddiseases, such as strokes and coronary artery diseases. Thirty percent of allheart disease deaths are caused by smoking.

Almost one in two adult males (45.3 percent) in thecountry are smokers. In addition, nearly 34.5 million non-smokers are exposedto second-hand smoking at home, at restaurants, hotels and in the workplace.

Vietnamis among countries in the Western Pacific Region that have ratified the WHOFramework Convention on Tobacco Control. It obliges countries to take steps toreduce the demand for and supply of tobacco products. This includes protectingpeople from exposure to tobacco smoke, banning tobacco advertising, promotionand sponsorship, requiring health warnings on tobacco packaging and increasingtobacco taxes.

In2013, Vietnam also launched the National Strategy on Tobacco Control through2020, which aims to reduce the smoking rate among youths and adolescents between15-24 years old from 26 percent in 2011 to 18 percent in 2020, and among adultmales from 47.4 percent in 2011 to 39 percent in 2020.  The Tobacco Control Law took effect in the country the same year,prohibiting smoking in indoor public and workplaces.

Thanks to actions made by the Government and tobacco controlpartners, the prevalence of indoor second-hand smoke exposure in most placessignificantly declined from 2010 to 2015, including in the home (73 percentdown to 59 percent), workplace (55 percent to 42 percent), and publictransportation (34 percent to 19 percent). However, exposure prevalence remainedhigh at restaurants (80 percent). –VNA