This project is assisting the Vietnamese government to improve the compliance of its tobacco control policies with reference to its FCTC obligations. The implementation and monitoring of Vietnam’s comprehensive Tobacco Control Law remains weak. The ways in which the government calculates, and measures the impact of, its tobacco taxes are also insufficient to reduce tobacco affordability and consumption. The country’s full adherence to FCTC guidelines on smoke-free spaces, pictorial health warnings, tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship bans, tobacco taxation, and the protection of public health policies from tobacco industry interference has thus been compromised.

The project is generating research-based evidence on the impact of current tax policies on tobacco affordability, health & revenue outcome, smuggling, and employment that policy makers can use to improve the effectiveness of Vietnam’s tobacco tax system. The project is providing this evidence to the Ministry of Finance and related government agencies to develop and propose a new mechanism for calculating tobacco tax and prices. The project is also working with government and civil society partners to develop and put into practice a comprehensive tobacco control monitoring and reporting system that will enable stakeholders to assess the strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and violations in policy implementation and enforcement.

The project has issued a Tobacco Tax Report Card that explains how tobacco taxes are calculated, and their impact on current tobacco prices and affordability. Its primary finding is that the real price of cigarettes in Vietnam is relatively low and has been decreasing over time as per capita income has increased. To fulfill the country’s FCTC obligations, the tax rate must be increased at a level that exceeds the combination of inflation and income growth.