Vietnamese spend nearly $2B on tobacco annually

By Le Phuong October 18, 2024 | 08:00 pm PT

Vietnamese people spend around VND49 trillion (US$1.95 billion) on tobacco every year, while the total costs related to tobacco-induced healthcare, illnesses, and deaths amount to an estimated VND108 trillion annually.

"Tobacco is placing a significant burden on both Vietnam's economy and public health," said Nguyen Thi Thu Huong from the Tobacco Control Fund under the Ministry of Health at a conference on Thursday.

The cost from tobacco use and the induced health problems was almost 1.5% Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) size in 2023, which was estimated at US$433.3 billion by the International Monetary Fund.

The economic damage caused by tobacco far outweighs the revenue generated from taxes on tobacco products. A study conducted by K Hospital revealed that 97% of lung cancer patients are tobacco users. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that tobacco-related diseases account for around 104,300 deaths in Vietnam annually, including 19,000 deaths caused by secondhand smoking.

Huong also highlighted the rising rate of smoking among women. Over the past eight years, the smoking rate among women aged 15 and older has increased from 1.1% to 1.5%, even as the smoking rate among men has dropped from 45.3% to 38.9%. E-cigarette use among female students is also growing, which may lead to tobacco use later in life, she warned.

Studies suggest that teenagers who start using e-cigarettes at age 14 are more likely to smoke tobacco by age 17. In Vietnam, the e-cigarette usage rate among students aged 13-15 jumped from 3.5% to 8% between 2022 and 2023. This rising trend is mirrored in the adult population, where e-cigarette use increased from 0.2% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2020.

"The progress Vietnam has made in reducing cigarette use over the past decade is at risk of being undone by the growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people," Huong noted.

She called for increased taxes on tobacco and the creation of more non-smoking spaces as key measures to combat the harmful effects of smoking. Vietnam currently taxes tobacco at 38.8% of the sale price, far below the 70% rate recommended by the WHO. The low tax rate makes tobacco easily accessible to young people and those with lower incomes, Huong added.

The Ministry of Health is urging the government and the National Assembly to consider a nationwide ban on the production, sale and use of e-cigarettes in Vietnam.