New Data from Viet Nam Critical to Reducing Death Toll of Tobacco Use
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Download
Vietnamese Press Release
(New York,
NY) - World Lung Foundation today
congratulated the government of Viet Nam on the
completion and release of a major new survey
results about tobacco use. The Global Adult
Tobacco Survey (GATS) is conducted to a
rigorous global standard and tracks tobacco
use, exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, and
tobacco control measures across a number of
different countries.
Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer and President of World Lung Foundation, said: "World Lung Foundation congratulates the Ministry of Health, Hanoi Medical University, and the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam on the release of GATS data. The data provide the most current and accurate information about how tobacco is used, showing that nearly 15 million adults smoke tobacco and 33 million non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home.
Viet Nam has made some important strides over the last few years, and the GATS report reinforces the need for continued, focused action. It also will provide a basis for evaluating the efforts of the Ministry of Health and its partners to ensure that progress is being made to protect the public from the harms of tobacco. We remain committed to offering our technical support to our colleagues and partners in Viet Nam, who are paving the way for a healthier Vietnamese society."
Monitoring tobacco use is a key provision of the World Health Organization's package of MPOWER strategies to reduce tobacco consumption. MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.
About World Lung Foundation
World
Lung Foundation was established in response to
the global epidemic of
lung disease, which kills 10 million people
each year. The organization
improves global lung health by improving local
capacity to conduct
research, develop public policy and deliver
public health education.
The organization's areas of emphasis are
tobacco control, tuberculosis,
HIV/AIDS, asthma, and child lung health. For
more information, please
visit worldlungfoundation.org