A smoking ban in Hanoi’s state offices, public places and public transportation will begin in April, 2008 according to a plan recently approved by city administrators.
The City without Smoke campaign will be implemented by the municipal People’s Committee in partnership with Health Bridge, a Canada-based non-governmental organization.
Authorities in the capital will begin promoting the policy later this month, according to the plan.
In related news, Health Bridge has recently released a study on the health impacts of smoking in Vietnam.
Some 11 percent of students surveyed between the ages of 13-15 in nine provinces and cities including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City had tried smoking. The percentage of students in that age group who now smoke regularly is 3.3 percent, according to the study.