Alcohol harms law to come into force from early 2020

October 18, 2019 | 13:00

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The Ministry of Health (MoH) on October 16 held a conference on the implementation of the Law on Prevention and Control of Alcohol-related Harms, marking a milestone in the control of non-communicable diseases (NCD) risk in the country.

alcohol harms law to come into force from early 2020

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien made a speech at the conference

“This is the first time Vietnam has had such a complete and comprehensive law on alcohol and beer prevention and control. The implementation will also be a challenge as it is related to deep-rooted habits and behaviours of people,” said Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.

Addressing the event, Dr Kidong Park, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam said that the new law will help Vietnam in the control of a major non-communicable diseases (NCD) risks

“To effectively prevent alcohol-related harms, this law must be strictly implemented with support from the government and agencies at all levels, as well as the public,” said Park.

To ensure transparency and effectiveness, Park recommended Vietnam should allocate adequate funds and human resources for the enforcement of the law, raise public awareness, involve non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and partners in the implementation and monitoring of the law while promoting community initiatives for the prevention of the harmful use of alcohol.

The law was passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2019, and will take effect from January 1, 2020.

Vietnam has been named in the group of countries with the highest percentage of men drinking alcohol in the world. In 2010, 70 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women aged over 15 consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, with the rate increasing to 80.3 per cent for men and 11.6 per cent for women in 2015. Alcohol use among teenagers is becoming more and more popular, as alcohol consumption among teenagers and young people has increased by nearly 10 per cent over the past five years.