HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The smoking rate among men in many provinces andcities last year fell compared to 2017 as a result of agencies’efforts to implement tobacco harm-prevention programmes, Dr Phan ThiHai, deputy head of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund, said at a conference heldin HCM City last week.

The smoking rate among men in HCM City fell to 44.5 percent in 2020from 46.7 percent in 2017, and dropped by 7.5 percent in the CentralHighlands province of Lam Dong and by 7.4 percent in the northernprovince of Phu Tho.

The rate of exposure to secondhand smoke also fell at public sites such asrestaurants, state offices and health facilities.

According to the Fund’s statistics, staff at 1,560 stateoffices, 3,778 kindergartens, 3,577 primary schools, 2,502 secondaryschools and 1,010 high schools have carried out regulations on banning smoking.

More than 200 transport companies have banned staff from smoking atthe workplace and in coaches.

Workers at 4,442 factories have also strictly complied with the ban at theirworkplace.

Around 508 hospitals at provincial and district levels have banned staff andpatients from smoking.

Moreover, 305 restaurants and 400 hotels nationwide have banned smoking.

Representatives of steering committees for tobacco harm-prevention atministries and provinces as well as cities nationwide said theyhad carried out many education and communication programmes on smoking.

In the northern province of Bac Ninh, the Department of Education and Traininghas worked with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention oncarrying out communications about the harm caused by tobacco andimproving the education environment by reducing smoking by staff andteachers.

Limiting tobacco advertisements' influence on students has alsobeen a focus of communication.

Dao Thi Hoai, a teacher at Hoan Son Secondary School in the province’s TienDu district, said that several students had brought cigarettes to the school tosell to others, and were given advice about the harm caused bydoing so.

Nguyen Thi Hien, secretary of the HCM Communist Youth Union at Que Vo HighSchool III, said the school would continue communicationactivities about the harm caused by tobacco as students were stillchoosing to smoke outside.

Teachers in the Mekong Delta province of Long An also are concerned aboutstudents who choose to continue to smoke outside schools.

Hai of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund said that tobacco was sold at manyplaces at cheap prices, and new kinds of tobacco products such as e-cigaretteswere being sold. The e-cigarette smoking rate rose 2.6percent in 2019 from 0.5 percent in 2015.

“So, prevention of smoking, especially e-cigarettes among young people,will be a focus in the upcoming time,” she said.

According to HCM City Police, inspections and fines for violations against theLaw on Tobacco Harm Prevention have helped reduce the number ofsmokers and the harm on the community’s health.

HCM City is one of a number of provinces and cities where the Ministry ofPublic Security has piloted inspections and fines for these violations.

In 2019, police fined restaurants, hotels and others a total of 168 million VND(7,277 USD) for smoking indoors.

Last year, especially because of COVID-19, policeissued warnings and asked passengers at restaurants and hotels not tosmoke./.