Nine northern and central provinces on July 4 signed a joint commitment to building smoke-free workplace in a bid to curb ill effects of cigarette smoking. They include northern Nam Dinh, Ha Nam, Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh and Hai Duong provinces, and central Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh. Representatives from the provincial Labor Federations made the pledge that looks to realize the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harm, at a conference held by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and the Ministry of Health in Thanh Hoa province. To concretize their commitments, the localities plan to intensify communication campaigns to raise local workforce’s awareness of tobacco harms. According to the office of the health ministry’s tobacco harm prevention program, Vietnam is one of 15 countries with the highest rate of cigarette smoking in the world. Up to 47.4% of Vietnamese men and 1.4% of women are smokers, equivalent to 15 million grown-ups. Additionally, 33 million non-smokers in Vietnam are exposed to tobacco smoke at home, while 5 million people are passively affected by the smoke at their workplace. Experts also pointed out a large number of evils of smoking and being exposed to the smoke, naming risks of suffering from life-threatening diseases, losing work capacity, and dying young, among the few. (Vietnam News July 4)
