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Tobacco Control in Vietnam: Looking Forward to a Healthy New Year

Working in global tobacco control, I’m often reminded of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, the king who was sentenced to an eternity of pushing a boulder up a mountain. Every time he nearly reached the apex, the boulder would tumble back down the mountain, forcing him to begin again—one step forward, two steps back. In tobacco control, I’ve learned that no achievement comes easily, and that advocates must often work persistently and wait patiently for victories, both big and small.

So I’m excited that this year, we may witness a major victory for tobacco control in Vietnam, where we at WLF have been mounting and evaluating public education campaigns for nearly four years. This victory has been a long time coming: After several years of development, advocacy, debate, and countless achievements and setbacks, comprehensive tobacco control legislation could be passed by the Vietnamese government in May 2012. Passage of this important law would mean higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free public places, and implementation of other significant tobacco control interventions that have been proven to reduce smoking and save the lives of smokers and non-smokers.

The draft law was introduced to Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) during its November 2011 meeting, with overwhelming backing from influential NA members. To encourage public and policymakers’ support for the law during the NA meeting, WLF contributed to the airing of a national mass media campaign, “Cigarettes Are Eating You Alive.” This pair of ads graphically depicts the public health rationale for the legislation by showing the horrifying health effects of tobacco use on smokers and their families—including lung cancer, stroke, ear infection, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Working with the Ministry of Health, we aired the ads on national TV channels during primetime programs like the evening news, as well as on 3,400 LCD screens in hospitals, supermarkets, and on public transport across Vietnam (see below). Health education departments of several provinces—particularly in the south of the country, where media time is more expensive—contributed to the campaign by airing the ads in health facilities and wherever else they could obtain free airtime.

2011 marked the second time the “Cigarettes Are Eating You Alive” campaign aired in Vietnam. Evaluation results of the first phase of the campaign, which aired from December 2009 to January 2010, showed that more than three-quarters of smokers who saw the campaign said it made them more likely to quit and to stop exposing others to smoke, and nearly nine out of ten non-smokers who saw the campaign said it made them more likely to complain about secondhand smoke exposure. We hope to replicate this success to increase support for the legislation, both during the November 2011 NA meeting and when the NA ultimately decides on the law in May. Until then, we and our partners continue to work feverishly with journalists and policymakers to ensure passage of this law, which has been so many years in the making. In 2012, we are all eager to see Vietnam take a giant step forward for tobacco control and for public health.