According to Vietnamnet on August 21, voters in Da Nang City, Vietnam, reported that the use of vapes has become common and rampant in schools at all levels, seriously affecting students’ health and learning.
Voters in the city put forward opinions at the seventh session of the 15th National Assembly, suggesting that the sale of vapes to students should be strictly prohibited, and measures should be taken to restrict the entry of vapes into Vietnam, while units that illegally supply and sell vapes should be strictly dealt with.
Based on this suggestion, Đào Hồng Lan, Minister of Health of Vietnam, said that there is currently a “legal gap” regarding vapes, heated tobacco and other new tobacco products. She pointed out that the 2012 Tobacco Hazard Prevention Law has not yet explicitly involved these new tobacco products. At the same time, the Investment Law does not include vapes, heated tobacco products or other new tobacco products in the catalogue of prohibited investment and operation or conditional investment and operation.
According to a report from the Medical Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, among nearly 700 medical institutions across the country, there were 1,224 cases of hospitalization due to the use of vapes and heat-not-burn tobacco products in 2023 alone, of which 71 were patients under the age of 18 and 10% were women.
The minister pointed out that the relevant departments can only investigate and deal with these new tobacco products in the form of uninvoiced, undocumented goods or smuggled products. Some cases involving drugs or banned drugs have been criminally handled. The minister believes that the problem of new tobacco is becoming increasingly serious and has aroused widespread public concern, especially among students and college students. These products are highly addictive, so measures must be taken quickly to curb them in time.
In May this year, the Ministry of Health has recommended that the government submit a resolution to the National Assembly to completely ban the production, operation, import and advertising of vapes, heat-not-burn tobacco and other new tobacco products that may appear in the future.
“If it is only proposed to prohibit the purchase, sale or use of vapes and heat-not-burn tobacco products by persons under 18, or to prohibit the sale of these products to persons under 18, tobacco control will not achieve the goal of reducing smoking rates, but may give young people the opportunity to be exposed to tobacco and cause other risks.”
Currently, five countries in the ASEAN region, namely Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Brunei and Cambodia, have completely banned vapes and heat-not-burn tobacco products.
In Vietnam, the use of vapes has attracted the attention of the Minister of Health and the public, calling for filling the legal gap and completely banning the sale and import of new tobacco products. This trend is contrary to Veehoo’s commitment to providing safe and high-quality products, and also highlights the regulatory challenges of the vape industry worldwide.
Veehoo has always been responsible to consumers and committed to providing reliable products. However, in the face of regulatory challenges of vapes in Vietnam and around the world, Veehoo needs to cooperate with relevant departments to strengthen product supervision and information disclosure, ensure the legality and compliance of products, and actively support the formulation and implementation of relevant regulations.
As some countries in the ASEAN region have completely banned vapes and heated tobacco products, Veehoo should take the ban proposal put forward by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health seriously and actively cooperate with the government’s regulatory requirements to ensure the balance between the development of the vape industry and public health.
Therefore, Veehoo will continue to be committed to providing products that meet local standards, while paying attention to and actively responding to the regulatory and regulatory requirements for vapes around the world, and contributing to the healthy and sustainable development of the vape industry.
Tags: Use of vapes in Vietnam，Vietnam’s Ministry of Health calls for a ban on new tobacco products，veehoo vape