It is necessary to build a legal corridor for the production, circulation and control of smokeless tobacco

In order to create free and fair competition among manufacturers and products, and protect the interests of consumers, and protect public health, state management agencies need to immediately draw up plans to build building a legal framework for the production, circulation and control of smokeless tobacco products, commented Lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, DT LAW Law Firm.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first heated tobacco product to be marketed in this market.

Accordingly, heated tobacco products are designated as tobacco products that reduce exposure to harmful substances to the body compared to cigarettes. This decision of the FDA is also a response to some concerns of governments around the world about the ability of products to reduce harm. In addition, other concerns were also answered by experts. The risk is lower than with cigarettes, higher than that of quitting To date, health authorities are concerned that the FDA’s decision to only allow products to be designated “reduced exposure” does not prove that heated tobacco products reduce the risk of disease to human health. use. In addition, some medical experts have made statements that contradict the FDA’s decision, saying that the product is not different from cigarettes. According to official information from the FDA, studies on heated tobacco have demonstrated that the aerosols produced by these products still contain high levels of harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including formaldehyde. , acrolein, carbon monoxide; NNN and NNK (substances related to diseases caused by tobacco smoke) but significantly lower than the currently circulating combustible cigarettes. Specifically, depending on the type of substance, the average concentration in aerosol gas will be reduced from 55% to 99% compared to the smoke of cigarettes. At the same time, the FDA said that in the process of reviewing the records, FDA has consulted users. The results showed that users found that the risk of using these products was lower than that of smoking cigarettes. However, they are also fully aware that using this heated tobacco product carries a higher risk than quitting smoking or using nicotine replacement products. PGS.TS.BS. Tran Van Ngoc – Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Association said that in logic, minimizing exposure will help reduce harm. Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of the Central Hospital for Cancer, also stated: “From the perspective of an oncologist, when a patient smokes, the greater the amount of carcinogens exposed, the higher the cancer risk. And for cigarettes, one thing is important: nicotine is not the cause of cancer caused by smoking, but the cause of cancer is the molecules in the smoke created by the combustion of cigarettes. leaves”. Low accessibility to young people The US FDA is a reputable health authority in the US as well as globally. Accordingly, protecting the young generation and people’s health is the top goal of FDA. Therefore, allowing a single heated tobacco product to be allowed access to the US market shows that they have done thorough research and considered carefully before making a decision. FDA Representative, Dr. Priscilla Callahan-Lyon affirmed that the FDA has carefully studied the issue of the product’s impact on young people. Accordingly, in terms of appearance, a heated cigarette is a rather large set of equipment, difficult to conceal and is not cheap, must be used with its own custom cigarette, and this product also does not contain attractive aromas. young. Not only in the US, in countries where this product is allowed to be sold, it is almost impossible for young people to access the product. In order to make a purchase, the buyer must go through a background check to ensure that the buyer is a smoker and is of legal age of majority in the country of origin. At the same time, although allowing this tobacco product to be commercialized, FDA also requires manufacturers to regularly update their sales and trade processes to ensure control of young people’s access to the product. This product is at its lowest. Meanwhile, compared to heated cigarettes, young people can easily buy cigarettes anywhere with as cheap as giving. On the other hand, in countries that allow the circulation of heated tobacco, the impact of this product on young people or new users is almost under control. Despite accounting for 85% of global sales of heated cigarettes, only 0.1% of middle and high school students in Japan use heated cigarettes daily, which is only one-fifth of the total. percentage of students smoking burned cigarettes. It is worth noting that the number of students using heated cigarettes is the same group of students who have used cigarettes before. According to an independent study of 7,000 teenagers in Germany, the number of people aged 12-17 who used a heated tobacco product in the 30 days before the survey was almost zero. One study Another independent study of more than 11,000 teenagers aged 11-15 years old in Switzerland also found that less than 2% had ever used heated tobacco, while the number of people who smoked lit cigarettes in this same age range increased. to over 33%. Need a plan to build a legal corridor According to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO), which Vietnam has acceded to and entered into force in March 2005, in the definition under article 1, item (f) published on the website of the Foundation for Prevention of Tobacco Harms (Vinacosh) also clearly states: “tobacco products” means products which are wholly or partly derived from tobacco materials manufactured to for sucking, sucking, chewing or inhaling. The 8th Conference of the Parties (COP8) held by WHO at the end of 2018 also once again reiterated that heated tobacco is recognized as a tobacco product. From this definition and the COP8 guidelines, it can be seen that whether according to the definition of the 2012 Law on Drugs and Prevention of Vietnam, or within the definition of the WHO Framework Convention on FCTC 2005, heated tobacco is a products must be subject to the control of the current Law on Drug Prevention and Control. Lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, Law Firm DT LAW On the other hand, lawyer Phan Hoang Lam, DT LAW Law Firm, said that the Law on Prevention of Tobacco Harms 2012 defines “Tobacco is a product manufactured from all or part of medicinal ingredients. leaves, processed in the form of cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, pipe tobacco or other forms”. On this basis, heated tobacco is considered “tobacco” because it contains tobacco leaf ingredients, consistent with the concept of “tobacco” under the current legal provisions of Vietnam. Therefore, this drug is completely regulated by the National Drug Prevention and Control Law. According to Lawyer Lam, in order to manage smokeless tobacco products more effectively, Vietnam needs to consider international scientific bases to evaluate and compare the level of harm to the health of the drug. smokeless leaves compared to burned cigarettes. At the same time, with the function of State management, in order to create free and fair competition among manufacturers and products and protect the interests of consumers, protect public health, regulatory agencies The state should immediately come up with a plan to build a legal corridor for the production, circulation and control of these products.