RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Smoking behaviour, tobacco sales and tobacco advertising at 40 ‘Smoke Free Hospitals’ in Vietnam
JF Tobacco Control
JO Tob Control
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP tc-2023-058003
DO 10.1136/tc-2023-058003
A1 Joshua David Merritt
A1 Pham Ngoc Yen
A1 Nguyen Thu-Anh
A1 Chau Quy Ngo
A1 Vu Van Giap
A1 Nguyen Viet Nhung
A1 Bui Thi Ha
A1 Ma Thu Thuy
A1 Nguyen Thuy Anh
A1 Nguyen Thuy An
A1 Guy Barrington Marks
A1 Joel Negin
A1 Kavindhran Velen
A1 Greg James Fox
YR 2023
UL http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2023/09/05/tc-2023-058003.abstract
AB Background Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death globally. Vietnam’s 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms establishes all healthcare facilities as smoke-free environments. We aimed to evaluate the implementation of these policies within health facilities across Vietnam.Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken at 40 central, provincial, district and commune healthcare facilities in four provinces of Vietnam. The presence of tobacco sales, smoke-free signage, evidence of recent tobacco use and smoking behaviours by patients and staff were observed over a 1-week period at multiple locations within each facility. Adherence with national regulations was reported using descriptive statistics.Results 23 out of 40 facilities (57.5%) followed the requirements of the national smoke-free policy regarding tobacco sales, advertising and signage. Smoking was observed within health facility grounds at 26 (65%) facilities during the observation period. Indirect evidence of smoking was observed at 35 (88%) facilities. Sites where smoking was permitted (n=2) were more likely to have observed smoking behaviour (relative risk (RR) 2.16, 95% CI 1.83 to 2.56). Facilities where tobacco was sold (n=7) were more likely to have smoking behaviour observed at any of their sites (RR 1.53, 95% CI 0.93 to 2.51).Conclusions Implementation of current smoke-free hospital regulations remains incomplete, with widespread evidence of smoking observed at three levels of the Vietnamese healthcare facilities. Further interventions are required to establish the reputation of Vietnamese healthcare facilities as smoke-free environments.Data are available upon reasonable request.