Quyết định 229/QD-TTg

DECISION

APPROVING FOR “THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON TOBACCO HARM PREVENTION AND CONTROL TILL 2020”

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government, dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Tobacco Harm Prevention, dated, June 18, 2012;

Pursuant to the Decision No. 877/2004/QD-CTN, dated November 11, 2004, of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on approving the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control;

Pursuant to the Decision No. 1315/QD-TTg dated August 21, 2009, of Prime Minister, approving the plan to implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control;

At the proposal of the Minister of Health,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve “the national strategy on tobacco harm prevention and control till 2020” with the following contents:

I. OBJECTIVES AND VIEWPOINTS ON TOBACCO HARM PREVENTION AND CONTROL

1. Objectives:

a. General Objectives:

To reduce the demand on use, and control in order to gradually reduce the provision level of tobacco products consumed in the Vietnamese market with the aim to reduce risks of diseases and deaths caused by the tobacco use.

b. Specific objectives:

- To reduce the rate of smokers in the following groups:

+ Adolescents (aged between 15 and 24): From 26% in 2011 down to 18% in 2020;

+ Men: From 47.4% in 2011 down to 39% in 2020;

+ Women: down to below 1.4% in 2020.

- To raise people’s sense of law observance for implementation of a smoke-free environment.

2. Viewpoints:

a. The tobacco harm prevention and control must be interested by leaders of ministries, departments, sectors, mass organizations and localities and be regarded a regular and intersectoral task.

b. Information, education and communication about the tobacco harm prevention and control are the major solution and must be incorporated into programs and strategies on health improvement in order to raise the awareness of people about tobacco harms and consequently change behaviors of smoking in the community.

c. To step up socialization of the tobacco harm prevention and control on the basis of mobilizing the active participation of Ministries, departments, sectors, agencies, units, mass organizations, social organizations, non-governmental organizations and the community.

d. To uniformly carry out measures to reduce tobacco demand in combination with control measures to gradually reduce sources providing tobacco. To step up the inspection, examination and handling of violations of the law on tobacco harm prevention and control.

e. To strengthen international cooperation and integration in the tobacco harm prevention and control suitable to socio-­economic conditions of the country.

II. MAJOR SOLUTIONS

1. Improvement of policies and law on tobacco harm prevention and control:

a. To formulate and improve legal documents detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control:

On the basis of their assigned functions and tasks, competent state agencies shall review, amend, supplement and promulgate legal documents on tobacco harm prevention and control which detail and guide the implementation of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control.

To formulate documents and materials guiding the implementation of a smoke-free environment in accordance with the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control.

To clearly stipulate the sanction levels applied to the act of smoking in prohibited places, to assign specific responsibilities for functional units to regularly and proactively conduct inspection, examination and assessment of the implementation of a smoke-free environment.

To formulate guiding documents and strictly sanction persons and organizations that violate the provisions on prohibiting employment of under-18 persons for tobacco sale, on tobacco sale to under-18 persons or prohibiting tobacco sale by vending machines.

b. To formulate a tax adjustment roadmap and provide the minimum sale price of tobacco to limit the demand for tobacco use:

The tax adjustment roadmap and provision for the minimum sale prices of tobacco products should ensure the objectives of no increase and gradual decrease in the purchase of tobacco products; apply appropriate measures to limit and strictly control the sale of tobacco products at duty-free shops.

c. To control the trading in tobacco products:

To formulate the national plan on tobacco business, including the master plans on tobacco material zones, tobacco production and tobacco business network.

To evaluate and announce the produced tobacco output of enterprises suitable to each period on the basis of the total tobacco output quota of entire tobacco industry already announced before the effective date of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control. To regularly inspect the licensing of the tobacco wholesale and retail. To strictly control the tobacco circulation from wholesale to retail, to continue the licensing for business in tobacco wholesale and retail agents and pilot the licensing for tobacco retailers.

To formulate a regulation on management of tobacco import and business; to provide focal point importers, quality standards and labels of imported tobacco; to manage the domestic circulation of imported tobacco products; to stick separate import stamps to distinguish imported tobacco from domestically-produced one.

To formulate and amend, supplement provisions of law on completely prohibition of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products in all forms. To strengthen inspection and examination of the observance of provisions on prohibition of the tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

d. To gradually change jobs for laborers in the tobacco industry

To study and formulate schemes to support economically feasible alternative activities for persons planting tobacco and workers producing tobacco.

2. Solutions of information, education and communication about tobacco harm prevention and control:

To formulate the overall programs and plans on information and communication about tobacco harm prevention and control and organize their implementation in order to raise awareness, enhance support of policymakers and the community about the tobacco harm prevention and control.

To develop documents and materials for information and communication on tobacco harms, benefits of the tobacco cessation and a smoke-free environment, policies and law on tobacco harm prevention and control suitable to groups.

To strengthen provision of information and communication about tobacco harms for all subjects, paying special attention to policymakers, administrators, adolescents, social workers and communication officers.

To diversify forms of and channels for information and communication about tobacco harm prevention and control. To increase the time volume and frequency of information and communication about tobacco harm prevention and control in the mass media. To promote the role of network of tobacco harm prevention and control collaborators in mobilizing people to strictly observe the law on, and actively participate in, tobacco harm prevention and control. To supplement the criterion of no smoking in the campaign for building civilized lifestyles and cultural families in the community.

To develop educational documents on tobacco harm prevention and control suitable to educational levels and grades. To step up education about tobacco harms and the tobacco harm prevention and control in schools.

To develop counseling services for patients and their relatives on tobacco harms and methods of tobacco cessation at health establishments.

3. Solutions on organization and human resources:

To study the consolidation of the Steering Committee of the national program on tobacco harm prevention and control with the participation of Ministries, departments, sectors, mass organizations and social organizations. To formulate the annual operation plans and to assign specific responsibilities for members of the Steering Committee and regularly review and evaluate the performance of tasks and plans.

To study and formulate a plan on consolidating the permanent body of the Steering Committee of the national program on the tobacco harm prevention and control. To establish a section specialized in tobacco harm prevention and control and health improvement at the Ministry of Health and assign focal point staff in charge of tobacco harm prevention and control at Ministries, Ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and mass organizations to increase the intersectoral coordination in tobacco harm prevention and control.

To study the establishment of provincial- level steering committees of the national program on tobacco harm prevention and control with the participation of provincial- level departments, divisions, sectors, mass organizations and social organizations. To clearly define the functions and tasks of and coordination mechanism among provincial-level departments, divisions, sectors and mass organizations to ensure the effective implementation of tobacco harm prevention and control in localities.

To study the increase of forces for inspection, examination and handling of violations of the law on tobacco harm prevention and control. To formulate mechanisms and plans for intersectoral coordination and coordination between central and local levels in the inspection, examination and handling of violations of the law on tobacco harm prevention and control. To regularly organize problem- and locality-based intersectoral inspections and examinations of the tobacco harm prevention and control.

To study the development of network and raise capacity of officers participating in the tobacco harm prevention and control from central to local levels through training courses, seminars and other forms; to have appropriate support regimes and policies to encourage social workers and collaborators in the community to participate in tobacco harm prevention and control activities.

To provide the capacity improvement training for specialized inspectors to regularly monitor and supervise the observance of the law on advertising, promotion and sponsorship by tobacco traders. To strengthen support for anti-smuggling forces, particularly in border areas.

To promote the role of mass organizations in supervising the observance of the law on tobacco harm prevention and control and mobilizing the community to quit the tobacco use habit.

4. Financial solutions:

To diversify funds for the tobacco harm prevention and control activities from different sources such as the fund for tobacco harm prevention and control set under the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control; state budget (central and local budget funds); and voluntary contributions of domestic and overseas organizations and individuals. To further mobilize the financial and technical assistances of international organizations for tobacco harm prevention and control activities.

To formulate a scheme on the model of the fund for tobacco harm prevention and control that is suitable and effective for Vietnam and to submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval. To formulate the operation charter of, guide on revenues, expenditures and payment and settlement regimes of the fund to ensure its proper, effective and economical use.

Funds for tobacco harm prevention and control should be allocated appropriately, attaching importance to activities of information, education and communication, research evidences for formulation of policies, supervision and evaluation of the implementation of the law on tobacco harm prevention and control.

To develop services to support the tobacco cessation, to step up scientific research and application of cessation methods suitable to Vietnam’s socio-economic conditions. To permit the production, import and use of drugs for tobacco cessation with tax incentives in accordance with current regulations of the State.

5. Other solutions:

a. International cooperation:

To cooperate with the World Health Organization and other international organizations in studying, assessing and formulating policies on the tobacco harm prevention and control with the aim to implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

To organize regional and international scientific seminars and conferences on the tobacco harm prevention and control in order to share and learn experiences in effective solutions on tobacco harm prevention and control. To organize study tours about the tobacco harm prevention and control in countries in the region and the world.

To participate in the formulation and application of guides of the World Health Organization on the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control suitable to Vietnam’s conditions.

b. Environmental protection:

To push up measures to protect the environment and the health of persons involved in tobacco growing and production. To relocate tobacco plants far away from residential areas under the plans of State.

III. ORGANIZATION OF THE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

1. Phases of strategy implementation:

a. Phase 1 (2013-2015): To concentrate on the dissemination of the Law on Tobacco harm prevention and control; completion of documents guiding the Law on Tobacco harm prevention and control and the prohibition of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products; implementation of the regulation on a smoke-free environment; completion of the mechanism and organization for management and use of the fund for tobacco harm prevention and control; evaluation of the implementation of legal documents on tobacco harm prevention and control; consolidation of the organization and network for tobacco harm prevention and control and improvement of coordination capacity of the Ministry of Health in tobacco harm prevention and control.

b/ Phase 2 (2016-2020): To further increase the implementation of the regulation on a smoke-free environment; to implement researches and assessments on the rate of tobacco use and passive exposure to tobacco smoke; to supervise and assess the implementation of the provisions on prohibition of advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products and illicit trade in tobacco products.

2. Responsibilities of Ministries, sectors and localities and relevant agencies:

a. The Steering Committee of the national program on tobacco harm prevention and control:

The Steering Committee, established under the Decision No. 467/QD-TTg dated April 17, 2001, of Prime Minister, shall direct the comprehensive implementation of tobacco harm prevention and control activities nationwide.

To direct the formulation of national strategies and action plans on tobacco harm prevention and control for each period and annual operation plans. To direct, organize, urge and examine the implementation of national strategies and action plans on tobacco harm prevention and control.

b. The Ministry of Health:

To be the standing agency of tobacco harm prevention and control and tasked to organize and coordinate the implementation of intersectoral programs and plans on tobacco harm prevention and control nationwide. The permanent office of the program on tobacco harm prevention and control is located in the Ministry of Health and shall assist the Steering Committee of the program in organizing the implementation of the plan on implementation of the Framework Convention and plans on tobacco harm prevention and control.

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned agencies in, reviewing and systematizing legal documents in the field of tobacco harm prevention and control; to formulate regulations on contents, forms and information for warning of the harmful effects of tobacco products to health, compositions and concentrations of substances in tobacco products; to formulate and manage national technical regulations on cigarettes; to study methods of tobacco cessation and organize their implementation; to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in, compiling documents on tobacco harm prevention and control to put into the curricula of schools and medical and pharmaceutical training institutions.

To coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in evaluating the impact of tobacco taxes on the consumption of tobacco products and revenues of the Government.

To coordinate with relevant Ministries and sectors such as the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam and news and press agencies in actively organizing activities to disseminate the objectives, significance and contents of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control and the Framework Convention on tobacco control; to call all people in the community to actively participate in the implementation of regulations on tobacco harm prevention and control.

The Ministry of Health shall act as the focal point to annually review and report to the Prime Minister on the implementation of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control, the strategy on tobacco harm prevention and control and the plan on implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

c. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism:

To assume the prime responsibility for formulating documents guiding the comprehensive prohibition on all forms of tobacco advertising in all cultural, art, movies and sports activities. To strictly control the implementation of provisions on prohibition of advertising and promotion of tobacco products and strictly sanction violations. To direct the strict implementation of the refusal for receipt of funding and dissemination of information on advertising, promotion and sponsorship by tobacco companies.

To assume the prime responsibility for carrying out intensive and extensive information, education and communication among people classes about the law on tobacco harm prevention and control, the Framework Convention and the harms of tobacco products in all cultural, art, movies and sports activities; to disseminate and formulate the lifestyle of non-offer and non-use of tobacco products; to develop smoke-free tourist sites.

d. The Ministry of Information and Communications:

To assume the prime responsibility for formulation of documents guiding the comprehensive prohibition of all forms of advertising and promotion of tobacco products in the mass media, computer networks and publications.

To strictly control the observance of provisions on prohibition of advertising tobacco products, and strictly sanction acts of advertising tobacco products in the mass media, computer networks and publications. To direct the strict implementation on refusal for publishing information on advertising, promotion and sponsorship by tobacco firms in the mass media, computer networks and publications.

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Health in, providing and disseminating information on guidelines, policies and law on tobacco harm prevention and control, the Framework Convention, and the harms of tobacco products in information and communication media.

dd. The Ministry of Industry and Trade:

To assume the prime responsibility for planning the network of wholesale and retail of tobacco products and investment in the tobacco industry; to pilot the licensing of tobacco retailers. To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development gradually studying and formulating economically viable alternative plans for persons planting tobacco and workers producing tobacco upon rearrangement of the industry. To coordinate with relevant Ministries, sectors and agencies in stepping up the prevention and control of the illicit trade in tobacco products.

e. The Ministry of Education and Training:

To assume the prime responsibility for studying and incorporating contents of the tobacco harm prevention and control into teaching programs of all educational levels and grades.

To strengthen public information and education about the tobacco harm prevention and control for pupils, students and personnel in educational sector. To further direct the formation of the model of smoke-free schools.

g. The Ministry of Finance:

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Health in, completing plans and documents guiding the establishment, operation and organization of the fund for tobacco harm prevention and control to timely support tobacco harm prevention and control activities nationwide; to formulate a roadmap on conformable adjustment of excise tax on tobacco products to reduce the rate of tobacco use; to assess the impact of the excise tax policy on tobacco consumption and revenues of the State; to inspect the stamp sticking of tobacco products.

To assure the allocation of state budget funds for the tobacco harm prevention and control in annual expenditure estimates of Ministries and central sectors according to the current budget decentralization.

h. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: To study and formulate economically viable alternative plans for persons planting tobacco, to step by step restructure crops to replace part of tobacco plants in areas growing tobacco to ensure the life of inhabitants in still disadvantaged areas.

i. The Ministry of Public Security: To strengthen tobacco harm prevention and control activities in the public security sector; to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies in stepping up the prevention and control of the illicit trade in tobacco, to participate in the sanction of violations of regulations on tobacco harm prevention and control.

k. The Ministry of National Defense: To strengthen tobacco harm prevention and control activities in its attached units; to coordinate with other Ministries and functional sectors in fighting tobacco smuggling.

l. Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam and mass media agencies:

To formulate plans on broadcast and set appropriate time volume to broadcast and report news and articles with the aim to wide dissemination of the objectives, significance and contents of the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; to call all people in the community to actively participate in the implementation of regulations on tobacco harm prevention and control.

m. Socio-political organizations:

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the Vietnam Farmers Association, the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam War Veterans Association shall mobilize their members to actively participate in the campaign for tobacco harm prevention and control.

To formulate and promulgate documents guiding the tobacco harm prevention and control in their organizations; to coordinate with the Ministry of Health in compiling documents on tobacco harm prevention and control suitable to each group; to coordinate with administrations and mobilize people not to use tobacco products in the community, during festivals, weddings, funerals and family parties.

n. Provincial-level People’s Committees:

To direct the formulation and implementation of plans to implement the strategy in their localities. To proactively mobilize resources and allocate annual budget funds to meet requirements of the tobacco harm prevention and control in their localities. To annually report to the Government on the implementation of the objectives and tasks of the strategy in their localities.

IV. FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Funds for implementation of tobacco harm prevention and control activities are generated from:

1. The fund for tobacco harm prevention and control established under the Law on tobacco harm prevention and control.

2. State budget (Central and local state budge).

3. Voluntary contributions of domestic and overseas organizations and individuals.

4. Funds from governments of other countries and international organizations.

5. Other sources (if any).

The Steering Committee of the program on tobacco harm prevention and control shall annually report to the Prime Minister on the progress and result of the implementation of this strategy.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial- level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.