The government’s ban on smoking in public places took effect on 1 January 2010 but around the country, people can still be found smoking in parks, stations and hospitals.

Eight of 10 interviewed smokers at Saint Paul Hospital in Ha Noi said they did not know about the ban while another two said they did not care. Saint Paul Hospital is one of the thousand hospitals and health clinics that fall under the list of public places where smoking is prohibited. According to the decision, people are not allowed to smoke in public places such as schools, health clinics, cinemas, and stations.Violations of the ban can be met with a fine of VND 50,000 to 100.000 (EUR 1.86 to 3.73).
In addition to the smokers interviewed, managers of public places also denied knowledge of the ban and were unsure how to implement it.
While the ministry of health was assigned with the responsibility of enforcing the ban, Nguyen Minh Hung, chief inspector of the HCM City Health Department, said: "There are too many smokers but too few inspectors," adding that "even if we mobilised all the health staff of the country, we wouldn’t have enough to enforce the ban." Before legislating the ban, the government and relevant agencies should have a prepared an effective implementation plan, said Nguyen Trong Hoang, deputy director of the HCM City Health Education and Communication Centre.
The ban comes at a time when, according to the ministry of health, Vietnam was one of the nations with the highest rates of smokers in the world. Up to 53 per cent of mature males are estimated to be regular smokers. Another obstacle to enforcing the ban was the unlicensed sale of cigarettes in public places. (sra)