E-Malt.com News article: Vietnam: The consumption of beer and alcohol in Vietnam maybe reduced by 50% by 2015

This year the draft national policy on preventing the harms of alcoholism will be submitted to the Government for approval, which may reduce the consumption of beer and alcohol in Vietnam by 50% by 2015, VietNamNet Bridge communicated January 08.

According to statistics, around 5-6% of mental patients are alcoholics. Surveys of people aged 14-15, show that 69% of boys and 28% of girls have drunk alcohol at least once and 58% of boys and 30% of girls have been drunk at least once. Among adults, State employees, soldiers, businessmen and retirees consume alcohol at high levels.

Drunkenness has become an urgent social issue and is threatening the country’s young generation; alcoholism can cause divorce, injuries, violence, suicide, and social disorder. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol is related to 3.2% of accidental fatalities in the world and 4% of patients have alcohol related symptoms.

Statistics also show that Vietnamese people spend VND14.4 trillion on alcohol each year, while the State revenue from alcohol is equivalent to 30% of that number.

To prevent increasing alcohol abuse in Vietnam, the Government assigned the Ministry of Health to coordinate with related agencies to draft the National policy on preventing the harms of alcoholism from 2007-2015.

The policy aims to raise Vietnamese people’s awareness of the dangers of alcohol and to work out measures to control production of pirated alcohol products and illegal imports of alcohol, to reduce fatal cases and injuries as well as economic and social losses related to alcohol.

According to the draft policy, from now to 2010, alcohol production will be decreased by 30%, and to 50% by 2015, while moonshine, produced by locals (farmers often process wine from cassava, rice and other plants) will be reduced by 40% in 2010 and 60% by 2015.


09 January, 2008