Vietnam: 30,000-40,000 Die From Smoking Annually

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 27 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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According to new reports, thirty to forty thousand people die of smoking related disease each year in Vietnam.

Some 56 percent of local men aged 15 upwards are cigarette smokers, the Vietnam Tobacco Control Program reported.

In recent years, smokers in Vietnam have spent over 8.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (512.5 million U.S. dollars) on smoking, said the programmes secretary, Phan Thi Hai.

According to statistics released by the Vietnamese Health Ministry in late 2005, over 50 per cent of local men and 3 per cent of local women smoke.

Vietnam, with a population of 84 million, is trying to reduce the number of smokers by imposing higher taxes on tobacco products, restricting investment in cigarette production, and raising public awareness about the harm of smoking.

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