Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Health Do XuanTuyen on September 28 urged authorities and people’s engagement in theprevention and control of alcohol harms as strong as the resolve to fightCOVID-19.

At the Ministry of Health’s meeting on theenforcement of the law on alcohol harm prevention and control, he saidVietnam’s health sector has obtained a number of achievements in caring for,protecting and improving people’s health.

However, apart from coping with infectiousdiseases, the settlement of non-communicable diseases is always a challenge tothe sector, Tuyen said, noting that alcohol use is one of the risk factors ofnon-communicable diseases.

According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), alcohol ranks fifth among the top 10 causes of death in the world andalso a cause of many chronic diseases. Alcohol abuse also affects family andsocial relations and undermines the quality of human resources and population.

Tuyen pointed out that drinking alcohol is oneof the three leading causes of traffic accidents among males aged between 15and 49. The cost of settling alcohol-related traffic accidents accounts for about1 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, the cost of treating six cancers (breast cancer,colorectal cancer, liver cancer, mouth cancer, stomach cancer, cervicalcancer) with alcohol among the main causes is also a burden on many familiesand the society.

Statistics indicate an upward trend in theaverage per capita alcohol consumption among people aged 15 and above, bothmale and female, in Vietnam. The rate of alcohol use among adolescents and theyouth is about 80 percent for males and 36 percent for females.

Notably, more than 40 percent of males use alcoholat the hazardous level, which is drinking 60 grammes of alcohol and over atleast once within 30 days.

The deputy minister said given considerablehazards of spirits and beer to public health and social issues, most ofcountries around the world have strictly controlled alcoholic beverages anddiscouraged consumption.

In Vietnam, the law on alcohol harm preventionand control took effect on January 1, 2020 with a view to preventing andminimising health, social and economic consequences resulted from alcoholabuse.

Calling for as strong engagement in the fightagainst alcohol harms as the COVID-19 combat, he suggested localities set uptheir own steering boards for alcohol harm prevention and control, assignconcrete tasks to each sector and level of authority, build plans for lawimplementation, and ensure drastic actions that match local conditions.

Tuyen recommended anti-alcohol harm moves beincluded in work regulations of organisations and agencies by such as banningdrinking spirits and beer before and during working hours and driving vehicles,stipulating agency leaders’ responsibility if their staff commit violations,and including anti-alcohol harm tasks in resolutions of provincial-levelPeople’s Councils to enhance law enforcement./.