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| A global survey shows that the smoking rate among adult men has dropped to 45.3 per cent from the previous 47.4 per cent. — VNA/VNS Photo |
Viet Nam News
CAPE TOWN — The health ministry of Việt Nam has won a Bloomberg Philanthropies award for its efforts to monitor tobacco use and prevention policies.
The ministry is among six winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control, which were announced at a ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday as part of the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
Receiving the award at the ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến expressed her gratitude to the World Health Organisation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and domestic and international organisations for their support to Việt Nam in its fight to control tobacco use in particular and non-communicable diseases in general.
The five other winners are from El Salvador, Mexico, Senegal, Uganda and Argentina.
The Vietnamese health ministry actively worked with other ministries, agencies and socio-political organisations to draft a law on the prevention of tobacco use. The law, which has been adopted by the National Assembly, bans smoking in indoor public spaces along with anti-tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship, among other stipulations.
The ministry also helped in the establishment of the Vietnam Tobacco Control Fund with mandatory contributions from tobacco production and trading companies.
According to a global survey, the smoking rate among adult men has dropped to 45.3 per cent from the previous 47.4 per cent. The rate of passive smoking in work places also reduced to 42.6 per cent from 55.9 per cent, while passive smoking at home declined to 59.9 per cent from the previous 73.1 per cent. — VNS
