The Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) launched a campaign for Smoke Free Homes in Hanoi on May 31, aimed at collecting 1 million signatures in one month.
In response to World No Tobacco Day 2010, the campaign will focus on raising public awareness against harm of smoking, especially second-hand smoke that threatens the health of women and children in the family.
WHO will help fund training courses for women union officials in smoking control, design media coverage on dangers of smoking and speed up the campaign at all levels.
World No Tobacco Day 2010 is aimed at protecting women from second-hand smoke and marketing campaigns by tobacco companies. The move is also to focus on raising men’s responsibility for smoking far away from women in both public place and at home.
According to statistics from WHO, Vietnam is among countries with highest rates of male smokers in the world (56.1 percent).
The Ministry of Health’s 2009 report showed that up to 40,000 people died of smoke-related diseases a year, quadrupling the road accident death tally.