Impacts of Smoke Free Implementation – To Do or Not To Do

Tóm tắt

Tobacco health effects are a major public health issue in the world. It is estimated that tobacco use is responsible for up to 90% of lung cancers, 30% of all cancers, 75% of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and 35% of ischemic heart diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) also indicated that Tobacco use could be attributed to 14% of deaths in men and 11% of deaths in women in the Western Pacific region. In Vietnam only, non-communicable diseases are on an increasing trend, accounting for more than 62% of all hospital deaths with tobacco use attributing to 17% of all deaths and 21% of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. A smoke free environment was indicated to have an important impact on the health of non-smokers as well as smokers. It created a supportive environment for smokers to quit or reduce smoking while it did not pose any negative impact on business or the situation of smoking at home. After implementing smoke free policy, quality of air at different settings such as workplaces, bar, restaurants was reported significantly improved. Different studies also showed significant reduction of incidence of related illness.