Vietnamese people have easy access to cigarettes due to their cheap prices

“With such low retail cigarette prices, low-income people and new smokers, including children and teenagers, can easily access cigarettes,” MSc. Nguyen Thi An, Director of HealthBridge Canada in Vietnam, said on November 16, adding that the tax currently applied is a simple proportional tax, which will tend to encourage the production of low-cost drug brands, That will make it easier for young people to access and start smoking.

Ms. An said that the tax policy on cigarettes in Vietnam, after many adjustments, still has many shortcomings, requiring continued improvement. Specifically, from 2008 to now, during 16 years, Vietnam has implemented 3 times to increase special consumption tax (SCT) on cigarettes with the tax increase of only 5-10% each time and the gap between Tax increases are quite long.

The first time was in 2008 with the tax rate increasing from 55% to 65%; the second time in 2016 (after 8 years) with an increase from 65% to 70%; 3rd time in 2019 (after 3 years) with an increase from 70% to 75%. The method of calculating excise tax on cigarettes has not changed, the tax calculation remains the same.

Results of a survey on cigarette retail prices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City conducted by the University of Public Health and HealthBridge Organization in Vietnam in 2023 show that there are up to 40 cigarette brands with retail prices below 10,000 VND. VND/pack of 20 cigarettes, there are many brands priced at only 7,000 VND to 8,000 VND/pack of 20 cigarettes.

MSc.BS. Nguyen Tuan Lam, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam, said the smoking rate among adult men has decreased significantly from 47% in 2010 to 41% in 2021, but the decrease This is still modest and has not yet achieved the goals set out in National strategy to prevent and control the harmful effects of tobacco.

In addition, recently the trend of cigarette consumption has begun to increase again from 2022-2023. According to data from the General Statistics Office, total cigarette production has increased significantly from 6.4 billion packs ( each pack contains 20 cigarettes) in 2021 to 6.8 billion packs in 2022 and continue to increase to 7.5 billion packs in 2023.

“Current high rates of tobacco use threaten the ability to achieve national tobacco control and health goals in Vietnam, as well as commitments to implement the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.” healthy,” Mr. Lam said.

And MSc Le Thi Thu, Senior Legal Advisor, CTFK Organization, said that with more than 15 million smokers in Vietnam today, it has caused a significant burden of disease and premature death with the trend of increasing. According to the 2021 global burden of disease study, it is estimated that our country has more than 84,500 deaths due to active smoking and 18,800 deaths due to diseases caused by exposure to passive smoke. The number of deaths due to tobacco accounts for 17.8% of the total number of deaths nationwide, nearly 15 times higher than the number of deaths due to traffic accidents.

In addition to the health aspect, the losses caused by medical costs to treat diseases caused by tobacco and lost productivity due to illness and premature death are very significant, estimated at more than 108 thousand billion VND by 2022, equivalent to 1.1% of GDP. This cost is 5 times higher than the total revenue from tobacco taxes. This is a threat to the country’s economic and social development, especially to its aspiration to become a high-income country by 2045.

Experts see that reforming Vietnam’s tobacco tax policy can significantly reduce the harmful effects of tobacco on development and bring many socio-economic benefits. Vietnam has very low tobacco taxes, with taxes accounting for only about 36% of cigarette retail prices in 2022, among the lowest in the region.

WHO recommends that the absolute tax rate should be at least 5,000 VND per pack by 2026, and increase annually to reach 15,000 VND per pack by 2030. With this plan, there will be 3.2 million fewer smokers. in 2030.