Viet Nam

Project and Country Background

Viet Nam has a population of 94.4 million people; 18.2 percent of the adult population and 2.5 percent of the youth population smoke cigarettes.1 An estimated 86,358 people in Viet Nam die each year from diseases caused by smoking.2

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes in three major cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Hanoi. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From June 28 to July 8, 2013, data collectors purchased 147 unique cigarette packs. Then from October 12 to October 26, 2015, data collectors purchased 150 unique cigarette packs.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Viet Nam: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/viet-nam [Insert Last Updated Date].

1 in 5 people in Viet Nam smoke cigarettes
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic

Browse packs from Viet Nam

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Jun. 28 to Jul. 8, 2013

[147 unique packs collected]

Text
30% of front, 30% of back

2

None

None

Warning text: black with a white background; at least 2 mm in height.

Oct. 12 to Oct. 26, 2015

[150 unique packs collected]

Picture and Text
50% of front, 50% of back

6

All labels are displayed concurrently and are intended to be replaced with new warnings every 2 years

Some restrictions

Warning on the top edge of the pack. Warning text: white; at least 3 mm in height. Text and pictorial warning enclosed within a black border.

Tobacco packaging and labeling laws in Viet Nam are regulated under the National Tobacco Control Policy in Government Resolution No.12/2000/NQ-CP, introduced by the Government of Viet Nam in 2000. A series of government decrees and Prime Ministerial Directives guide implementation of the National Tobacco Control Policy. Current warnings are regulated under the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms No. 09/2012/QH13 and Joint Circular No. 05/2013/TTLT-BYT-BCT. The Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms is the primary tobacco control law governing smoke free places; tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and packaging and labeling, among other things.3

  1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, Country profile Viet Nam. (2017). Retrieved October 25, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/vnm.pdf.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4not.

  3. Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for Viet Nam: Packaging and Labeling. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016

    from http://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/viet-nam/pl-health-warnings.