Every day, more than 230 Vietnamese people die from tobacco

At the launching ceremony of the first "Smokeless Medical Facilities" Contest organized by the Health and Life Newspaper in coordination with the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health), Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said that tobacco is one of the leading causes of disease and death related to diseases such as lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, as well as many other serious diseases.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization, cigarettes claim about 8 million lives each year worldwide, equivalent to nearly 22,000 people per day. In Vietnam, the estimated burden of death is about 84,500 deaths/year, or more than 230 cases per day, and along with that, tens of thousands of people have to suffer serious consequences from passive smoking.

"Each lane of cigarette smoke in the hospital is not only a violation of regulations, but a direct danger to patients, doctors and the community, a contrast to the sacred mission of the space for care and treatment of life. Non-smoking medical facilities are professional standards, cultural measures and ethical commitments, protecting the health of patients, medical staff and the trust of the community", said the Deputy Minister of Health.

The Deputy Minister of Health said that the smoke-free medical facility competition" aims to promote the proactive and positive spirit of medical facilities nationwide in building a clean and safe medical examination and treatment environment, contributing to improving the quality of medical services and protecting public health. Medical facilities, more than anywhere else, need to be an absolutely clean environment to protect patients, medical staff and patients' families.

Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund (Ministry of Health) said: Thanks to the direction of the Ministry of Health, the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund has supported medical facilities nationwide to build a smoke-free environment, many units have seriously implemented the ban on smoking and widely disseminated the dissemination.

After 10 years of implementing the Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention, the rate of exposure to secondhand smoke at medical facilities decreased from 23.6% to 21.3%, the rate of drug discontinuance consultation increased from 40.5% to 90%.