PANO - The World Health Organization has awarded the Minister of Health of Viet Nam, Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, the World No Tobacco Day 2015.

Every year on 31 May, World No Tobacco Day, WHO recognizes individuals or organizations in each of the six WHO Regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control. The laureate must have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the policies and measures contained in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its guidelines.

Mr Jeffery Kobza, WHO Representative gives the World No Tobacco Day 2015 Award to Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Minister of Health of Viet Nam

WHO acknowledges the decisive role the Minister of Health of Viet Nam has played in pushing up the adoption of the Tobacco Control Law in Viet Nam and the instrumental part she has played in fending off attempts of the tobacco industry to interfere with the drafting process of the Law.

WHO presented the award to the Minister at a World No Tobacco Day event in Ha Noi on the 28th of May.

On the occasion of this year’s World No Tobacco Day WHO calls on Viet Nam to fully implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies, Protecting people from tobacco smoke, Offering help to quit tobacco use, Warning people of the dangers of tobacco, Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship and Raising tobacco taxes are six proven policies under the MPOWER package that will unleash the full public health power of the FCTC.  These measures can save as many as 16,000 people from premature deaths each year in Viet Nam.  

Tobacco kills nearly six million people each year, of which more than 600 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke.  In Viet Nam, tobacco takes more than 40,000 lives and the healthcare costs and productivity loss due to tobacco are estimated at more than one billion USD per year.

Each year on World No Tobacco Day WHO and partners highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

Thi Loan