The proposal sits inside the ministry's draft amendments to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms. The drafting process is largely complete, and the government is preparing the resolution needed to advance the bill to the 16th National Assembly's second session in October 2026.
Tran Thi Van Ngoc, Deputy Chief of Office at the Medical Services Administration under the ministry, outlined the draft at a workshop marking World No Tobacco Day on May 22. The bill carries two main policy clusters: a comprehensive ban on the production, trade, transport, advertising, sponsorship and use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and other new tobacco products, and a separate prohibition on wholesale and retail outlets displaying tobacco in any form.
On top of those measures, the ministry has urged the government to consider adding the 2010 generational cutoff, either to this round of amendments or to a later legislative timetable aligned with the country's socioeconomic conditions. The drafting agency described the cutoff as a step toward producing a generation of Vietnamese who never start smoking, lowering nicotine addiction among young people and cutting exposure to secondhand smoke.
A policy impact assessment found rigorous enforcement could sharply reduce smoking rates, save healthcare costs and limit productivity losses from tobacco-related illness, the ministry said. But putting the rule into practice would demand alignment among the National Assembly, the government, relevant ministries and the public, along with coordinated measures including age verification at the point of sale, fewer retail outlets, tougher penalties and sustained cessation support.
