In 2025, WHO noted that countries around the world had made important progress in tobacco control, especially in Southeast Asia.
In Viet Nam, the report reviewing 13 years of implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms recorded a significant reduction in tobacco use among men as well as among adolescents. However, many countries, including Viet Nam, are now facing an urgent need to strengthen control over new-generation tobacco products. Although e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products have been banned, they continue to circulate illegally in silence, posing the risk of undermining the achievements in tobacco control made over more than a decade.
It has been more than a year since National Assembly Resolution No. 173/2024/QH15 officially took effect, placing new-generation tobacco products on the list of items banned from production, trading, import, storage, transport and use. Yet, because of huge profits, violators continue to defy the law and seek every possible way to evade regulations. In the face of a strict legal framework, wholesalers have dispersed their stockpiles across different locations in an attempt to avoid crossing the “red line” under Article 190 of the Penal Code, which sets the value of prohibited goods at VND100 million or more.
At the same time, groups trading in these dangerous products have moved into more secretive operations, using increasingly sophisticated methods to avoid detection. Recently, some have shifted to bringing in separate components and assembling new-generation tobacco products domestically instead of importing finished products as before.
In some places and at certain times, e-cigarettes can still be openly ordered for delivery and used in hidden corners of coffee shops, drinking establishments and even on the street. More dangerously, new-generation e-cigarette products are also being used as a cover for disguised narcotics, which some users pass around by word of mouth as “safe stimulants”.
Viet Nam already has a legal framework in place, along with appropriate sanctions, but has yet to resolve the bottleneck related to the “extended arms” of law enforcement. Ward and commune police forces, as well as local health inspectors, have to shoulder a heavy daily workload and cannot lie in wait or draw up violation records against every individual offender.
In addition, the process of separating and testing the content of “banned substances” in liquids used for new-generation tobacco products requires considerable time and cost, creating difficulties for handling violations on the spot.
The results of several surveys conducted by WHO show that over the past year, e-cigarette use among university students in Viet Nam has fallen by more than half. Among students aged 13 to 17, use has also dropped significantly, from 8% to 1%. In addition, the number of hospital emergency cases linked to e-cigarette use has also declined.
However, according to Dr Angela Pratt, WHO Representative in Viet Nam, the ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products should be reflected more comprehensively in relevant laws. Specifically, the ban should cover product components, including e-cigarette liquids, nicotine pouches and so-called “dried herbs”, as some users often call them.
Control measures for conventional tobacco — the original form of nicotine inhalation through smoking — must be strengthened comprehensively. All types of tobacco products should be banned from display, while graphic health warnings on packaging should be expanded. Regulations on smoke-free places must also be strictly enforced, with consideration given to granting relevant authorities greater and more practical powers to handle violations in an appropriate manner.
Viet Nam is moving in step with many countries in eliminating tobacco through new, consistent and firm measures, towards a better future.
Viet Nam is moving in step with many countries in eliminating tobacco through new, consistent and firm measures, towards a better future. Preliminary estimates show that by 2031, the tobacco tax reforms recently approved by the National Assembly will help 2.1 million people quit or avoid smoking, reduce access to cheap tobacco, and make an important contribution to preventing around 700,000 tobacco-related deaths at an early stage.
If the “tobacco-free generation” policy is considered, Vietnamese adolescents and children will have the best opportunity to grow up healthier, live longer, and become the future owners of a country free from the influence of nicotine.
