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Firstly, I would like to thank the Ministry of Information and Communications, and Health Bridge Viet Nam for organizing this important workshop.
Secondly, I would also like to thank all of you, the media participants, for attending – you are key partners in our tobacco control work!
It is an honour for me to speak to you today, although I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person.
Today’s workshop is very timely, given that Viet Nam is facing some important decisions about how best to protect people from the dangers of tobacco use.
As you know, tobacco is very harmful to health, causing more than 8 million deaths each year around the world – and tens of thousands of preventable deaths every year here in Viet Nam.
Viet Nam made some good progress in the fight against tobacco harm in the last decade or so. However, on current trends, we will not achieve the National Tobacco Control Strategy target of reducing smoking among men to below 36% by 2030.
Recently, we have seen worrying signals signs that tobacco consumption may actually be starting to increase again in Viet Nam – with the General Statistics Office reporting that total cigarette production increased by more than 10% between 2022 and 2023.
All of this makes one thing very clear: we need to take stronger action to reduce tobacco use in Viet Nam, to protect health and save lives.
One of the biggest challenges we face is that tobacco in Viet Nam is incredibly cheap – and has been more affordable over time as people’s incomes have increased, but tobacco prices haven’t. We need to change this. Increasing tobacco taxes is the fastest and most cost-effective way to achieve this.
So, WHO congratulates the Ministry of Finance and the Government for the draft Revised Excise Tax Law, which was released for public comment in June.
The proposed law is a step in the right direction. But it is not enough to achieve the national smoking reduction targets.
WHO believes Viet Nam has a unique opportunity now during the revision of the Excise Tax Law to aim higher – and achieve more for people’s health.
Our modelling shows that a specific tax of 15,000 VND per pack by 2030, on top of the current percentage rate of 75% of the factory price, would help reduce men’s smoking to below 36% by 2030, in line with the national target.
Importantly, a change at this rate would massively increase annual tax revenues, bringing in an extra 29.3 trillion dong in 2030 compared to 2020.
This higher rate is WHO’s very strong recommendation – and we look forward to working with policy makers over coming months, to present the evidence and help make the case for this change. We hope that we can count on all of the journalists here today to partner with us in this effort.
While we do not yet know what the Government will decide, there is one thing we can be absolutely sure of over the coming months: the tobacco industry will fight these, and other efforts, to reduce consumption of their products.
My plea to all of you is, please be alert to these efforts – and do not fall for the tobacco industry’s tactics.
Specifically, look out for two particular tobacco industry claims.
Firstly, the industry will claim that higher taxes – and therefore higher prices – will result in more tobacco being smuggled into Viet Nam.
This is not true.
The evidence shows that price is not a factor in smuggling. People who smoke smuggled cigarettes are willing to pay more for particular brands than for domestic brands. The most important factor which affects the level of smuggling or illicit trade is enforcement capacity and efforts by the authorities.
Secondly, the tobacco industry claims that higher taxes will mean higher unemployment.
Again, this is not true.
When the price of tobacco goes up, people’s spending shifts to other products. Plus, the Government has more revenue to invest back into the economy – into areas like health and education which, unlike tobacco, will increase productivity and growth.
So, in your coverage of these important topics over the coming months, my plea to you is not to fall for the tobacco industry’s lies – which are designed to protect their own profits, and threaten to undermine Viet Nam’s health and development.
So, thank you again for the opportunity to make these brief remarks today. I’m sorry again not to be there with you in person but hope there will be future opportunities. I wish you an excellent workshop today, and I look forward to your continued partnership in protecting the health of the people of Viet Nam.
Xin cảm ơn!