Chương 2 Luật phòng, chống tác hại của thuốc lá 2012: Các biện pháp giảm nhu cầu sử dụng thuốc lá

Chapter II

MEASURES TO REDUCE TOBACCO DEMAND

Article 10. Information and education on the prevention of tobacco harms

1. The information and education must satisfy the following requirements:

a/ Publicly providing scientific, accurate and objective information about tobacco and tobacco harms;

b/ Diversifying the content and, forms and channels of information that suit their subjects.

2. The Information and education comprise:

a/ Policies and laws on prevention of tobacco harms;

b/ Tobacco harms to the health of tobacco users, children, pregnant women and passive smokers, and on the living environment and socio-economic development;

c/ Harms caused by the producing, trading, storing, transporting and using fake tobacco and smuggled tobacco to tobacco users' health and socio-economic development;

d/ Smoking cessation measures and benefits of smoking cessation and a environment without cigarette smoke;

e/ The rights, responsibilities and obligations of agencies, organizations and individuals in the prevention of tobacco harms.

3. Responsibilities for information and education are defined as follows:

a/The Ministry of Health shall organize and provide scientific information on tobacco harms; and cooperate with related ministries and sectors in providing information and education about the prevention of tobacco harms;

b/ The Ministry of Information and Communications shall organize and direct information agencies to provide information about the prevention of tobacco harms;

c/ The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall include the information propagation about the prevention of tobacco harms and measures to restrict tobacco use in culture, sports and tourism activities and family life; and impose restriction on the use of tobacco use in movies, on theatres and television;

d/ The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall provide and propagate information propagation about the prevention of smuggled and fake tobacco;

e/ The Ministry of Education and Training shall include the prevention of tobacco harms in curricula that suit to each educational grade;

f/ The People's Committees at all levels shall organize information and education about the prevention of tobacco harms locally;

g/ The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall provide and propagate information, and encourage their members and the entire society not to use tobacco and actively participate in the prevention of tobacco harms;

h/ Other agencies and organizations shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, organize information and educations on the prevention of tobacco harms in accordance with this Law.

Article 11. Places where smoking is completely prohibited

1. Places where smoking is completely prohibited indoors or outdoors, include:

a/  Medical establishments;

b/ Educational institutions, except for those specified in Point b Clause 2 of this Article;

c/ Childcare facilities and recreation facilities for children;

d/ Facilities or areas with high risk of fire and explosion.

2. Places where smoking is completely prohibited indoors include:

a/ Workplaces;

b/ Colleges, universities and academies;

c/ Public places, except for the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article and Clause 1, Article 12 of this Law.

3. Means of public transportation where smoking is completely prohibited are automobiles, airplanes and trams.

Article 12. Places where smoking is prohibited indoors but with separate areas for smokers

1. Non-smoking indoor places allowed to have areas reserved exclusively for smokers include:

a/ International areas in airports;

b/ Bars, karaoke clubs, dance halls, hotels and tourist accommodation establishments;

c/ Means of public transportation being ships and trains.

2. The smokers’ area must satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Having rooms with air ventilation systems separate from non-smoking areas;

b/ Having containers for tobacco filters and ashes and noticeable signboards;

c/ Having fire prevention devices.

3. Heads of places specified in Clause 1 of this Article are encouraged to prohibit smoking in all indoor areas.

4. The Government shall change the places specified in Clause 1 of this Article into those where smoking is completely prohibited indoors that suit each period.

Article 13. Obligations of smokers

1. Do not smoke at non-smoking places.

2. Do not smoke inside houses in the presence of children, pregnant women, sick persons or the elderly.

3. Maintain the cleanliness, dispose of cigarette ashes and filters at appropriate places when smoking at places where smoking is allowed.

Article 14. Rights and responsibilities of heads and managers of non-smoking places

1. Heads and managers of non-smoking places may:

a/ Compel violators to stop smoking in the non-smoking areas; to penalize administrative violations as prescribed by law;

b/ Request the violators to leave their facilities;

c/ Refuse to receive or provide services for violators when they continue their violation after being reminded.

2. Heads and managers of non-smoking places must:

a/ Implement Article 6 of this Law;

b/ Organize the implementation, guide, inspect and urge everyone to strictly comply with the smoking ban at the places under their management; put up signboards with non-smoking words or symbol at places where smoking is prohibited.

Article 15. Labeling and printing health warnings on tobacco packages

1. Tobacco manufactured or imported in Vietnam for sale must be labeled and printed with health warnings on their packages.

2. Tobacco manufactured or imported in Vietnam for sale must be labeled in Vietnamese in accordance with the law on goods labeling, and satisfy the following requirements:

a/ Printing health warnings in text and graphics which are clear and interpretable;

b/ Sticking stamps or printing number codes and bar codes; printing the date of manufacture and date of expiry;

c/ Printing clearly the quantity of cigarettes on cigarette packs, or the weight on other tobacco;

d/ Not using words and phrases that make readers and users believe that tobacco is of little harm, or incorrectly understand the harms of tobacco and smoke to human health.

3. Health warnings printed on tobacco packages must particularly describe the harms of tobacco use to human health and other suitable messages, and must be changed once every two years.

4. Heath warnings prescribed in Point a, Clause 2 of this Article must occupy at least 50% of the front and rear of a tobacco pack, carton or box.

5. The labeling of tobacco packages for export shall be made in accordance with the requirements of importing countries.

6. The Minister of Health shall  be in charge and cooperate with the Minister of Industry and Trade in issuing specific regulations on the labeling and printing of health warnings for tobacco as prescribed in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

7. The Government shall specify the increase of the areas for printing health warnings suitable to each period.

Article 16. Sponsorship

Organizations and individuals that trade tobacco may only provide humanitarian sponsorship for programs on hunger elimination and poverty reduction; prevention of natural disasters, epidemic and calamity ; and tobacco smuggling prevention, and must not announce such sponsorship on means of mass media.

Article 17. Smoking cessation

1. Smoking cessation is voluntary.

2. Agencies, organizations and individuals may organize activities or set up smoking cessation advisory and smoking cessation facilities.

3. Manufacturers and importers of medication for smoking cessation and advisory and smoking cessation facilities are eligible for preferential tax rates in accordance with tax laws.

4. The Government shall prescribe the conditions for the establishment and operation of advisory and smoking cessation facilities prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 18. Responsibilities for supporting smoking cessation

1. The Ministry of Health must:

a/ Guide the smoking cessation process;

b/ Direct smoking cessation smoking cessation research and consultancy;

c/ Direct the provision of training in smoking cessation methods for health workers and advisers.

2. The People's Committees at all levels must facilitate the smoking cessation and smoking cessation consultancy.

3. Agencies, organizations and individuals must encourage tobacco users in their respective agencies, organizations and families to voluntarily quit smoking.