Vietnam’s Action on E-cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products Will Save Lives, Protect Youth from Lifelong Addiction
Statement of Smita Baruah, Executive Vice President of Global Tobacco Control, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
December 03, 2024
Washington, D.C. – The National Assembly of Vietnam has voted in a unanimous decision to prohibit the use and sale of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products beginning in 2025 – a decisive move that will prevent millions of young people from accessing addictive tobacco and nicotine products. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids joins the World Health Organization and other leading public health groups in commending the Vietnamese government for prioritizing the health and well-being of youth.
For years, tobacco and e-cigarette companies have tried to position themselves as part of the solution to the global tobacco epidemic which kills more than eight million people each year – including more than 100,000 lives lost in Vietnam annually. The reality is that these companies have created products like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products that are aggressively marketed to young people, sold in thousands of youth-friendly flavors and threaten to undermine decades of progress in driving down tobacco use.
According to the World Health Organization, young people who use e-cigarettes are nearly three times as likely to take up smoking cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain nicotine – some in extremely high levels - which is highly addictive and harmful to young people.
Vietnam’s new National Assembly resolution was passed despite intense opposition from some of the world’s largest tobacco companies. In Vietnam and around the world, tobacco giants like British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International have aggressively lobbied against measures to reduce rates of tobacco use and protect kids from addiction. Tobacco companies want to keep people smoking and sell more cigarettes, no matter the cost.
We applaud the Vietnamese National Assembly, government and the Ministry of Health for taking a stand for public health and ignoring the interests of Big Tobacco. This new law will prevent further addiction, help the government continue efforts to drive down rates of tobacco use and ensure a healthier future for all.