Dr Ly Ngoc Kinh, Senior Consultant and Former Director, Standing Office of Viet Nam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health (VINACOSH), Former Director General, Medical Service Administration, Ministry of Health, Viet Nam is to receive the World Health Organization's World No Tobacco Day 2011 award for his efforts in controlling tobacco use in Viet Nam.
In its citation, WHO said Dr Ly Ngoc Kinh has contributed greatly to the successful campaign in ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Viet Nam and helping draft the National Action Plan for Implementation of the WHO FCTC in 2009. He is now a member of the drafting group for the tobacco control law that will be considered for approval by the National Assembly in 2012.
More than 5 million people worldwide die each year from tobacco-related diseases – more than the total for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
The WHO FCTC was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. The treaty contains tobacco demand and supply provisions of proven effectiveness. To date, more than 170 countries have ratified the FCTC. Viet Nam was among the first batch of countries that have ratified the FCTC, since 2004.
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Ms. Phung Thi Thu Phuong, Communications Assistant, PhungT@wpro.who.int
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