Alcohol use is increasing at an alarming rate in Vietnam, especially among young people, according to a conference held by the Ministry of Information and Communication in collaboration with the HealthBridge Organisation on July 5-6.

The nation ranks second in Southeast Asia and third in Asia in terms of consumption of alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine, the Ministry of Information and Communications said in a recent conference.

According to the Decision No. 508/D-TTg approving the Strategy for Tax System Reform to 2030 signed by Deputy Prime Minister Le Linh Khai, Vietnam will have a road map to increase excise taxes on tobacco, and alcohol products.

The Government has issued a decree stipulating the details of several articles to the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol.

Traffic police across the country fined 20,000 drivers under the influence of alcohol collecting VND253 billion ($10.9 million) for the state budget this month.

Restaurants are reporting a sharp fall in the number of customers after a few days the new fines on drink driving took effect.

The Law on Preventing Alcohol’s Harmful Effect will take effect at the beginning of next year. There will be radical changes which will ultimately save lives, but can those changes be made?

A Vietnamese man drinks an average of 27.4 litres of alcohol annually according to a report announced by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at a recent conference.

The liquor and beer industry contributed VND50 trillion to the national economy in 2017, but the total damages to society might be up to 1.3-3.3 percent of GDP, equal to VND65 trillion.

Some local newspapers recently quoted the Vietnam Beverage Association as saying that in 2015 Vietnam’s beer output reached 3.4 billion liters, an increase of 40.72% compared with 2010 and alcohol output (industrial production) of 70 million liters.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese drink 640 million litres of home brew each year, and the practice is spreading, the Viet Nam Association for Anti-Counterfeiting and Trademark Protection, VATAP, has reported.

 Women trying for a baby and those in the first three months of pregnancy should not drink any alcohol, updated UK guidelines say.

VietNamNet Bridge – Most civil servants who drink appear to enjoy their tipple a bit too much, leaving a negative impact on their work at state agencies in Viet Nam.

Medicinal wine has long been regarded by Vietnamese as an elixir that can treat a variety of common diseases, and even enhance vitality. However, the market is teeming with faked and low-quality medicinal wine, which is dangerous to human health.

VietNamNet Bridge - There are rumors about the great features of the wine soaked poppy; some people grew opium at home as medical herbs.