Vietnamplus

Amid the increasing use of tobacco, especially e-cigarettes, Vietnam has rolled out measures to minimise tobacco harms.

The smoking rate among male adults in Vietnam has decreased over the past years but remains one of the highest in the world, heard a press conference in Hanoi on May 23.

Parts of the upper northern and northeastern areas of Thailand remained cloaked in hazardous levels of smoke haze on March 28 with the worst pollution still in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district.

Hanoi’s tourism development plan sets out developing the sector in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.

Ho Chi Minh City is focusing on building unique tourism products to optimise its resources for the development of the smoke-free industry in the post-pandemic period.

Hanoi is working to make a breakthrough in tourism development this year by creating new and distinctive products to attract more domestic and international visitors, according to the municipal Tourism Department.

Positive signals of tourism seen in many localities during the Lunar New Year Holiday, and especially the decision to officially reopen tourism activities under the "new normal" state from March 15 are opening up many opportunities for the non-smoke industry to recover after a long hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, oil and gas enterprises still recorded a prosperous year thanks to the sharp rise in oil prices.

The Indonesian government is promoting the establishment of a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) with Australia – one of the key tourist markets of the Southeast Asian nation, in a bid to revive its non-smoke industry, said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno.

The Ministry of Health’s Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund and the Global Public Health Organisation (Vital Strategies) launched a communication campaign to promote the enforcement of the ban on smoking in indoor public places on August 10.

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in Vietnam. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, of which 69 cause cancer, participants heard at a recent online talk show to respond to World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

The domestic tourism sector has affirmed its high determination to recover the domestic market with the biggest roundtable forum on tourism of the year, which drew the participation of representatives from over 600 travel firms and management agencies nationwide.

The Vietnamese health ministry along with the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Vietnam on April 3 launched a campaign to encourage smoke-free restaurants and hotels in Hanoi.

The smoking rate among men in many provinces and cities last year fell compared to 2017 as a result of agencies’ efforts to implement tobacco harm-prevention programmes, Dr Phan Thi Hai, deputy head of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund, said at a conference held in HCM City last week.

Van Chan district in the northern province of Yen Bai aims to boost tourism development and expand tourism linkages with other districts in the province. To this end, the district has provided all possible conditions for local enterprises and people to invest and develop tourism projects and attract more visitors.

The Hanoi Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group’s Hanoi branch (VNPT Hanoi) have worked together to carry out a smart tourism project with a view to promoting the capital city’s non-smoke industry.

The Thai Ministry of Transport warned on January 13 that authorities will impose hefty fines on vehicles with exhaust emissions that exceed safe limits as an effort to reduce pollution caused by the PM 2.5.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are piloting programmes to reduce smoking.

Indonesia has to close many schools due to worsening air quality triggered by more choking smoke from forest fires.

Some of Hanoi’s major tourism locations will become smoke-free this month as part of a new initiative.