This is one of the latest proposals mentioned in the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, which was just organized by the Ministry of Health at a workshop to collect opinions in the Northern region on July 6.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Health proposed that wholesale and retail cigarette establishments must hang signs not to sell cigarettes to people under 18 years old, and carry out citizen ID card checks with chips, and the national identification application (VNeID) for cases where people under 18 years old are suspected of buying cigarettes.
In fact, currently, the concept of cigarettes is no longer just traditional cigarette packs placed on stalls. In just a few years, a series of new products with all styles, colors, flavors and marketing methods strongly aimed at young people have appeared on the market.
Meanwhile, many legal regulations have been built since more than a decade ago, when electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco, or nicotine-containing devices were almost not popular in Vietnam.
Therefore, the new proposals in the Draft Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms (amended), first of all, are efforts of functional agencies to make the law catch up with reality.
For a long time, the regulation banning the sale of cigarettes to people under 18 years old has existed, but implementation is not easy.
Sellers mainly estimate the age visually or verbally. In many cases, it is just a formality. Without verification tools, regulations are very difficult to be effective.
Now, using ID cards or VNeID to check age can create a clearer legal basis for both sellers and management agencies.
Similarly, the proposal to completely ban the display of cigarettes also stems from reality. Cigarettes placed right at the checkout counter seem to be just normal sales activities, but they are a visual form of promotion.
For teenagers, the frequent presence of eye-catching products can stimulate curiosity and reduce awareness of the harmfulness of tobacco.
Another notable point is that this draft has chosen an approach based on the nature of the product instead of just naming each new type of cigarette. This is very necessary in the context of constantly changing technology. If the law only chases after each new name, each new design, it will always be passive.
However, the biggest challenge of the story of tobacco prevention is still the issue of implementation. Tobacco today is not only sold in grocery stores but also creeps into social networks, e-commerce platforms, and even through closed groups. If management is tight in real life but lax in cyberspace, the effectiveness will be difficult to be complete.
Another issue is that the implementation guidelines also need to be clear. For example, what is "suspecting that the buyer is under 18 years old"? When is the seller required to present VNeID? What are the responsibilities and powers of the parties?
These questions need to be specifically regulated to avoid confusion when applying and limit the occurrence of disputes.
The goal of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms is not to cause difficulties for sellers or buyers, but to protect public health, especially the younger generation, against the increasingly sophisticated marketing forms of the tobacco industry.
Therefore, the law must always go one step ahead to lead practice. Especially with new generation cigarettes, if the law continues to lag behind the market, the price to pay will not only be management loopholes, but also the health of millions of young people in the future.
