Politics & Law
Urgent steps taken to ensure passenger safety during Tết travel rush
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| The Standing Committee of the National Assembly yesterday discussed the Law on the Prevention of alcohol’s harm, during which they said the law should adequately assess the cultural and economics factors of alcohol abuse.– VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt |
HÀ NỘI – The Standing Committee of the National Assembly yesterday discussed the Law on the Prevention of alcohol’s harm, during which they said the law should adequately assess the cultural and economics factors of alcohol abuse.
When presenting the report on the Health Legislative Program 2018 at the Sixth Plenary Session, the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs yesterday in Hà Nội, deputy health minister Phạm Lê Tuấn claimed Việt Nam ranked first in the world in consuming alcoholic beverages. A 2010 World Health Organisation study ranked the country 94th in per capita consumption.
He also said alcohol is the direct cause of more than 30 diseases and the fifth leading cause of death and disability globally. In addition to the impact on health, the abuse of alcohol is also a cause of violence, social disorder and traffic accidents.
Thus, the minister has developed the Law on the Prevention of alcohol’s harms, which would prohibit officials, employees and workers from using alcohol during working hours or breaks. It also prohibits the use of means of transport after drinking and prohibits the advertisement of alcohol.
Commenting on the draft law, deputy Nguyễn Anh Trí said that it was not fair to view alcohol as a harmful product, adding that making alcohol is a long-lasting traditions of many villages in Việt Nam.
Trí said the law should prevent fake and poisonous alcohol and the abuse of alcohol.
“Alcohol is not harmful itself but the abuse of it brings about bad effects,” Trí said, adding that the law must look at its effect on the economic standing of people who earn their living by making alcohol.
Health Minister Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến, meanwhile, said that the World Health Organisation has been warning about the harm of alcohol to health, therefore it was essential to build a law to control the abuse of alcohol. She also stressed that human health should be more important than economic factors.
The Ministry of Health also presented and received many comments on the Law on Population regarding the number of children couples should have, safe abortion laws and congenital disease screening.VNS
