PANO - About 15.3 million Vietnamese people smoke cigarettes, according to reports at a seminar to discuss the prevention of smoking and its aftermaths held on April 10^th in Hanoi by the Business Legislation Club under the Justice Ministry.

Representatives of involved agencies, experts and cigarette producers participated in the seminar to discuss suitable approaches to reduce the number of smokers, to minimise the bad effects of smoking on smokers as well as passive smokers and to prevent cigarette smugglings while maintaining domestic cigarette production.

Experts said that the rate of smokers in Vietnam is comparatively high among regional nations and the world, and people tend to start smoking at younger ages.

In addition to more than 15.3 million smokers, experts pointed to as many as 16 million other people who suffer from passive smoking.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry also warns that the number of patients at hospitals who have smoking-related diseases is on the rise and that the Ministry has to spend billions of VND every year on the treatment of smoking-related diseases.

At the seminar, experts suggested that there should be stricter laws and regulations on cigarette production and trading in order to reduce the number of smokers and the consequences of smoking.

Translated by Thu Nguyen