Tobacco control advocates in Vietnam recently held a press conference to announce new survey results of the mass media campaign conducted in December 2009.  This was supported by the World Lung Foundation (Bloomberg) and World Health Organization. There were more than 75 reporters  from different media agencies in Vietnam. Questions raised were mostly on the smoke free policies and Vietnam’s next steps. Full evaluation results and reports available upon request:  email Mr. Hoang Minh Giap, giaphoangbk@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW SURVEY SHOWS 77 PERCENT OF VIETNAMESE OPPOSE SECONDHAND SMOKE IN PUBLIC PLACES AFTER SEEING AD CAMPAIGN

(May 5, 2010, New York, NY and Hanoi, Vietnam) – Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) 

and World Lung Foundation (WLF) announced today the results of a national mass media campaign to build support 

for the ban on smoking in indoor workplaces, indoor public places, and public transport. A post-campaign evaluation 

survey showed that 77% of Vietnamese people who saw the ads oppose being exposed to secondhand smoke in 

public places (Table 1). This figure is 14% higher than that of people who did not see the mass media campaign (63%). 

This significant difference suggests that more people support the smoking ban if they have a better understanding 

about the health harms of smoking and secondhand smoke. According to the survey, more than 80% of smokers 

said that seeing the ads made them concerned about their own health and the effect of tobacco smoke on their 

families’ health. Three out of four smokers who saw the ads said that they were more likely to quit (Table 4).

Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of Medical Services Administration and Standing Office for the Vietnam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health (VINACOSH) said: “In Vietnam, 50% of male adults smoke, which is the equivalent of 17 million smokers. It is obvious that the number of smokers is lower than that of non-smokers. We should not let more than 60 million people be exposed to secondhand smoke. We are very pleased to see raised awareness of the public towards tobacco harms, and this support will be the basis for more comprehensive and stronger tobacco policies in Vietnam, to protect current and future generations from tobacco harms.”

“This campaign used strong imagery to communicate that tobacco smoke harms those who inhale it directly and those who are exposed to it secondhand, especially children,” said Sandra Mullin, WLF Senior Vice President of Communications. “We congratulate the Ministry of Health and the Vietnamese government for running this campaign, and we look forward to future efforts to reduce the tobacco epidemic in Vietnam.”

The “Cigarettes are Eating You Alive” campaign was developed jointly by the Ministry of Health, WLF, WHO, and 

other Vietnamese partners. The campaign aired nationally for five weeks, from December 2009 to January 2010. 

The campaign messages were spread through television, posters and the press. After the TV campaign, more than 

5,000 posters were posted in provinces across the country, including hospitals, offices, and education and 

transportation facilities. The ads were shown 245 times across Vietnam, and 70% of people interviewed recalled 

seeing the campaign.

The campaign consisted of two TV commercials broadcasted across national and provincial stations. The first ad showed in graphic detail how cigarettes damage the lungs, heart and brain by causing stroke. A second ad showed that children exposed to cigarette smoke suffer more respiratory infections, ear infections, asthma—even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Alday, World Lung Foundation, at +1 (212) 639 0070 or jalday@worldlungfoundation.org.

About the Standing Office for Vietnam Steering Committee on Smoking and Health

VINACOSH was established as per Decision No 467/QD-TTg dated April 17, 2001 by the Prime Minister. Its Standing Office is located in the Ministry of Health. Objectives of the program include: to reduce demand for tobacco; to reduce the supply of tobacco products with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality; to ensure the right of non-smokers to be able to live in smoke-free environments; and to reduce losses caused by smoking for individuals, families and society. For more information, please visit www.vinacosh.gov.vn.

About World Health Organization

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. WHO has cooperated closely with the Vietnamese government over the past 50 years and plays an important role in tobacco control. WHO has been supporting the Vietnamese government and relevant organizations in developing and implementing effective tobacco control measures; in producing media resources; in guidance and capacity building; in supporting the monitoring of tobacco use; and in evaluating tobacco-related health and economic burden. For more information, please go to http://www.who.int/tobacco/en/.