According to Dr. Nguyen Quang Bay, Head of the Department of Endocrinology - Diabetes, Bach Mai Hospital, diabetes (DTD) is a dangerous chronic disease, causing a series of serious complications. The most frightening complications include: myocardial infarction - the leading cause of death; cerebral stroke - leading to disability; foot ulcers - prolonged treatment and possibly leading to amputation; and coronary artery disease - one of the main causes of blindness.
The common point of these "Murderers" is not only poor blood sugar control, but also a factor that is often overlooked: smoking. According to statistics from the Department of Endocrinology - Diabetes, Bach Mai Hospital, about 80% of patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction, stroke or foot ulcers are still smoking or have just stopped smoking in recent years.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC, it is worrying that many patients do not know that smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 - 40%. Not only that, cigarettes also promote atherosclerosis, increasing the risk of clogged arteries, while making blood pressure control in patients with diabetes more complicated and expensive.
Doctor Bay added that not only DTD, but other endocrine diseases are also negatively affected by smoking. A typical example is Basedow's hyperthyroidism. Many studies show that smoking is a risk factor for disease starting and aggravating eye problems - a typical complication in women with Basedow. sadly, many women have to live with deformed faces not only because of illness but also due to frequent exposure to cigarette smoke from their husbands or colleagues.
"I have witnessed many times the patient's family members calmly smoking in the hospital hallway, while the pots of ornamental plants are filled with pieces of tobacco. A pack of medicine for just over 10,000 VND cheap for a few cups of iced tea makes cigarettes easy to access for young people and low-income people. It is that ease that makes the efforts of the medical industry in mobilizing drug withdrawal face many obstacles," said Dr. Bay.
The fundamental solution to reduce the number of smokers has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and successfully applied by many countries, which is to increase tobacco taxes. Vietnam needs a strong enough tax policy, as the Ministry of Health recommends: impose an absolute tax of at least VND 5,000/bag and gradually increase to VND 15,000/bag by 2030, combined with a tax rate of 75%.
If this roadmap is implemented, Vietnam can reduce 3.2 million smokers - more than 1 million people compared to the current plan of the Ministry of Finance. This not only helps protect public health but also reduces the burden of health, saving thousands of billions of VND in treatment costs related to tobacco each year. Increasing tobacco taxes is not an optional choice, but an urgent requirement.
