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Press Room

New Data from Viet Nam Critical to Reducing Death Toll of Tobacco Use

Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”

(New York, NY) – World Lung Foundation today congratulated the government of Viet Nam on the completion and release of a major new survey results about tobacco use. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) is conducted to a rigorous global standard and tracks tobacco use, exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, and tobacco control measures across a number of different countries.

Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer and President of World Lung Foundation, said: “World Lung Foundation congratulates the Ministry of Health, Hanoi Medical University, and the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam on the release of GATS data. The data provide the most current and accurate information about how tobacco is used, showing that nearly 15 million adults smoke tobacco and 33 million non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home.

Viet Nam has made some important strides over the last few years, and the GATS report reinforces the need for continued, focused action. It also will provide a basis for evaluating the efforts of the Ministry of Health and its partners to ensure that progress is being made to protect the public from the harms of tobacco. We remain committed to offering our technical support to our colleagues and partners in Viet Nam, who are paving the way for a healthier Vietnamese society.”

Monitoring tobacco use is a key provision of the World Health Organization's package of MPOWER strategies to reduce tobacco consumption. MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.