ObjectiveTo estimate the direct and indirect costs of active smoking in Vietnam.MethodA prevalence-based disease-specific cost of illness approach was utilised to calculate the costs related to five smoking-related diseases: lung cancer, cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischaemic heart disease and stroke. Data on healthcare came from an original survey, hospital records and official government statistics. Morbidity and mortality due to smoking combined with the average per capita income were used to calculate the indirect costs of smoking by applying the human capital approach. The smoking-attributable fraction was calculated using the adjusted relative risk values from phase II of the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study (CPS-II). Costs were classified as personal, governmental and health insurance costs.ResultsThe total economic cost of smoking in 2011 was estimated at 24 679.9 billion Vietnamese dong (VND), equivalent to US$1173.2 million or approximately 0.97% of the 2011 gross domestic product. The direct costs of inpatient and outpatient care reached 9896.2 billion VND (US$470.4 million) and 2567.2 billion VND (US$122.0 million), respectively. The government’s contribution to these costs was 4534.3 billion VND (US$215.5 million), which was equivalent to 5.76% of its 2011 healthcare budget. The indirect costs (productivity loss) due to morbidity and mortality were 2652.9 billion VND (US$126.1 million) and 9563.5 billion VND (US$454.6 million), respectively. These indirect costs represent about 49.5% of the total costs of smoking.ConclusionsTobacco consumption has large negative consequences on the Vietnamese economy.

In many developing countries, gender inequality contributes to the continued problem of unwanted pregnancies and unmet contraception needs. The majority of family planning programmes in Asia target only women; however, women's lack of decisionmaking power, even with regard to their own health, hinders their ability to practise family planning. This article describes successes and lessons learned in India and Vietnam from a HealthBridge programme which facilitated male involvement in reproductive health, particularly in family planning and in the use of male-centred contraception. The experience shows that, given the right role models and enabling environments, men are willing to be more fully and positively engaged in reproductive health matters.Dans de nombreux pays en de´veloppement, l'ine´galite´de genre contribue au proble`me qui persiste des grossesses non souhaite´es et des besoins de contraception non satisfaits. La majorite´des programmes de planning familial en Asie ne ciblent que les femmes ; cependant, le manque de pouvoir de prise de de´cisions parmi les femmes, y compris en ce qui concerne leur propre sante´, entrave leur aptitude a`pratiquer le planning familial. Cet article de´crit les enseignements et les succe`s obtenus en Inde et au Vietnam au moyen d'un programme de HealthBridge qui a facilite´la participation des hommes a`la sante´ge´ne´sique, en particulier en matie`re de planning familial et d'utilisation de moyens de contraception base´s sur les hommes. L'expe´rience montre qu'avec les bons mode`les et des environnements positifs, les hommes sont dispose´s à s'engager plus pleinement et positivement sur les questions relatives a`la santeǵ e´ne´sique.En muchos países en desarrollo, la desigualdad de ge´nero fomenta el persistente problema de los embarazos no deseados y de la demanda insatisfecha de anticonceptivos. En Asia, la mayoría de los programas de planeacio´n familiar es dirigida so´lo a las mujeres. Sin embargo, el hecho de que las mujeres no tengan el poder de decisio´n, aun trata´ndose de su propia salud, limita sus posibilidades de ejercer la planeacio´n familiar. Este artículo examina los e´xitos y los aprendizajes resultantes de la aplicacio´n de un programa de HealthBridge que fue implementado en India y en Vietnam, el cual facilito´la participacio´n de los hombres en la salud reproductiva, en particular, en la planeacio´n familiar y en el uso de anticonceptivos para el hombre. Estas experiencias demuestran que, de existir buenos modelos de referencia y ambientes propicios, los hombres manifiestan la voluntad de participar ma´s amplia y positivamente en los asuntos de salud reproductiva.

This review examined existing evidence to investigate the link between tobacco and poverty in Vietnam, to assess the impact of tobacco control policies on employment related to tobacco consumption and to identify information gaps that require further research for the purposes of advocating stronger tobacco control policies. A Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar search identified studies addressing the tobacco and poverty association in Vietnam using extensive criteria. In all, 22 articles related either to tobacco and health or economics, or to the potential impact of tobacco control policies, were identified from titles, abstracts or the full text. 28 additional publications were identified by other means. PHA, LTT and LTTH reviewed the publications and prepared the initial literature review. There is extensive evidence that tobacco use contributes to poverty and inequality in Vietnam and that tobacco control policies would not have a negative impact on overall employment. Tobacco use wastes household and national financial resources and widens social inequality. The implementation and enforcement of a range of tobacco control measures could prove beneficial not only to improve public health but also to alleviate poverty.

BackgroundVietnam’s national tobacco control strategy aims to reduce the rate of smoking among male adults from 45% in 2015 to 39% by 2020. The aim of this paper is to assess what contribution cigarette tax increases under Vietnam’s current excise tax plan can be expected to make to this target, and to discuss what additional measures might be implemented accordingly.MethodsThis study uses a mix of administrative datasets and predictive modelling techniques to assess the expected impact of tax and price increases on cigarette consumption, tobacco tax revenues and the rate of smoking between 2015 and 2020.FindingsThe average retail price of cigarettes is estimated to have increased by 16% (sensitivity analysis: 14%–18%) in inflation-adjusted terms between 2015 and 2020, while cigarette consumption is projected to decrease by 5.1% (4.5%–5.5%). The rate of smoking among males is projected to decrease to 42.8% (42.1%–43.6%) compared with the target of 39%. Total tax revenues from cigarettes are projected to increase by 21% (19%–23%), reflecting an extra ₫3300 billion in inflation-adjusted revenues for the government.ConclusionThe current excise tax law is expected to have only a modest impact on the rate of smoking in Vietnam, though it has generated tax revenues. If Vietnam is to achieve its tobacco control targets, the government should implement a mixed excise system with a high-specific component to promote public health by raising the price of cigarettes more significantly.

ObjectiveTo provide the first ever published estimates of the price and expenditure elasticities of demand for beer and wine in Vietnam and thereby contribute to policy initiatives aimed at reducing the excessive consumption of alcohol.MethodsWe use a linear approximation of the Almost Ideal Demand System and data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey for 2010, 2012 and 2014.ResultsWe find that the demand for beer and wine in Vietnam is price and expenditure inelastic with average price elasticities of −0.283 and −0.317 and average expenditure elasticities of 0.401 and 0.156, respectively. That is, we find that beer and wine consumption decline whenever their respective prices increase and their consumption increases whenever expenditure rises.ConclusionsThe results of the study lend confidence to calls for increased taxation of alcoholic products on public health grounds in Vietnam.