Vietnam Lawmakers Propose Lifetime Tobacco Ban for People Born From 2010

A birth date could determine who can buy tobacco

People born on or after January 1, 2010, would be barred for life from buying or using tobacco under a proposal presented to Vietnam's National Assembly on November 9, 2026. The restriction would begin on January 1, 2028, when the oldest people covered by it turn 18.

Le Hoang Anh, a deputy representing Gia Lai, proposed prohibiting both the sale and supply of tobacco to that generation, alongside its purchase and use. His aim is to prevent young people from ever entering the legal tobacco market, rather than simply making them wait until adulthood.

Nguyen Hai Long, a deputy from Da Nang, proposed another approach: increase the minimum purchasing age from 18 to 19 in 2028, then to 20 in 2029 and 21 in 2030.

Health Minister Dao Hong Lan said the government considered the evidence insufficient to include a generational ban in the bill. The draft retains the threshold of 18, and neither proposed age change has become law. No final voting date was given.

The debate over amendments to the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms also reached beyond age limits. Deputies sought restrictions on tobacco imagery reaching children online, broader definitions covering vaping substances without nicotine, larger warnings on cigarette packs and stronger checks on retailers.

How the two age proposals would work

Vietnam's existing Law No. 09/2012/QH13 prohibits tobacco sales to anyone under 18 under Article 9.6, as recorded in the Tobacco Control Laws database's sales age analysis. Under that rule, each new generation becomes eligible to buy tobacco when it reaches its eighteenth birthday.

Le Hoang Anh's proposal would replace that moving threshold with a permanent birth date for the affected generation. Someone born in 2010 would remain covered at 21, 40 or 60. People born before 2010 would remain eligible to purchase tobacco under the existing age rule.

Nguyen Hai Long's proposal would instead stop at 21. By raising the age one year at a time, it is designed to preserve eligibility for people who can already legally buy tobacco when the changes begin.

The proposed timetable and longer term target are:

• November 9, 2026: National Assembly deputies debate amendments and propose tougher age restrictions.
• January 1, 2028: The generational ban would begin under Anh's proposal; Long's alternative would raise the purchasing age to 19.
• January 1, 2029: Long's proposed purchasing age would rise to 20.
• January 1, 2030: Long's proposed purchasing age would reach 21.
• 2045: The year used for major Vietnamese projections of the generational policy's effect on smoking.

Why deputies focused on early adulthood

A 2021 survey cited by Long found that 5.46% of males aged 15 to 19 smoked, compared with 32.6% among those aged 20 to 24. The older group's rate was almost six times as high, a difference of 27.14 percentage points.

Long described the years from 18 to 21 as a period when young people leave home, earn their own money and enter new circles of friends. He argued that legal access to tobacco arrives during a particularly vulnerable stage of life.

Research he cited from the US Institute of Medicine describes adolescents and young adults as especially susceptible to nicotine addiction. Nicotine is the substance in tobacco that creates dependence, making people feel a strong need to keep using it. Long also cited research showing that brain development, including areas involved in weighing choices and controlling impulses, continues to around age 25.

International modeling cited during his speech estimated reductions in smoking rates of 3% with a purchasing age of 19, 12% at 21 and 16% at 25. Long also cited a Ministry of Health model estimating about 190,000 additional young male smokers annually if Vietnam keeps the threshold at 18.

What the ministry's earlier assessment projected

Ministry of Health Report No. 852, dated May 2026, assessed a lifetime restriction on tobacco purchase and use for people born from January 1, 2010. Long said it included forecasts for Vietnam through 2074 and an assessment of whether the policy would comply with the constitution.

Le Hoang Anh cited projections that, with strong compliance, a generational ban could leave about 3.07 million fewer men addicted to tobacco by 2045. Male smoking prevalence could fall to about 21%, reaching that level 22 years earlier than under existing rules.

With a medium level of compliance, the estimated reduction was about 1.7 million smokers. The difference between those scenarios makes enforcement central to the projected benefit: shops would need to refuse prohibited sales, while authorities would need to address purchases made through other people and illegal sellers.

Anh also cited forecasts under which other measures, including higher taxes, restrictions on product displays and more places where smoking is prohibited, would still leave male smoking prevalence above 28% in 2045. The 21% projection under strong compliance with a generational ban would be more than seven percentage points lower.

Four specialist medical associations sent recommendations to deputies in October 2026 seeking restoration of the generational restriction to the draft. They represented cancer care, cardiology, emergency and intensive care and poison control, and cancer immunotherapy.

Why the government has held back

Health Minister Dao Hong Lan said the government had examined the generational policy but considered it too new to have sufficient evidence about its practical effects. She also said enforcement of existing restrictions protecting people under 18 needed greater effort.

Lan defended retaining 18 partly because it aligns with the Civil Code's threshold for full civil capacity, the age at which people can generally exercise civil rights and obligations independently. She said about 140 countries use a purchasing age of 18, while 16 use 21. Long cited at least 15 countries using 21.

The ministry had also told Long that increasing the age to 21 required further scientific research, assessment of international experience, consultation and policy review. It said those procedures could not be completed during the current session.

Le Hoang Anh challenged the handling of the earlier generational proposal. He said the ministry's Submission No. 856 of May 20 included it as Policy 3 and received support from 20 of 23 government members. Report No. 852, issued the same day, judged it the best option.

According to Anh, Report No. 961 recommended leaving the policy out just 16 days later. He said the subsequent response report, No. 2078, referred to that later recommendation without discussing Report No. 852. Lan's explanation to parliament was that the government's assessment remained that there was insufficient basis to put the restriction into the bill.

International experience offers a limited test

New Zealand passed a generational tobacco ban in 2022 but repealed it before implementation, Lan told lawmakers. The Maldives began a ban in November 2025 covering people born in 2007 or later. Lan pointed to its population of about 530,000 when discussing the experience available to Vietnam.

The United Kingdom's proposal would prohibit tobacco sales to people born from January 2009, with implementation planned for 2027, according to the international examples presented during the debate.

Long cited surveys showing support for generational bans among 70% of people aged 18 to 24 in New Zealand and 64% of affected teenagers in Australia. He used those findings to argue that young people themselves may welcome protection from addiction.

Vietnam's choice therefore involves both a policy goal and a practical judgment: whether to permanently exclude a generation from legal tobacco access now, or retain the current threshold while gathering more evidence. Long asked for two age options to be put to a vote, with a phased increase to 21 as the first option.

The economic case and a production ceiling

Le Hoang Anh cited tobacco related losses of VND 108.7 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 1.14% of gross domestic product and about six times the industry's average contribution to the state budget.

Estimates based on tobacco consumption in 2020 put annual spending on tobacco at about VND 49 trillion, alongside roughly VND 108 trillion in costs associated with medical care, illness and premature death. The spending estimate describes money used to buy tobacco; the larger figure describes the wider burden of tobacco related disease and lost lives.

A Ministry of Health report cited during the debate estimated 100,000 deaths annually from tobacco smoke. Deputies also referred to diseases associated with tobacco use, including stroke, coronary disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Anh proposed placing a ceiling on production in the law: the total quantity permitted each year could not exceed the previous year's output. The government would determine the pace of reductions. That would put pressure on supply alongside measures intended to reduce demand.

Closing gaps in vaping and online rules

Le Hoang Anh proposed defining prohibited materials by their function rather than relying on lists of substances. His suggested rule would cover liquids and other substances used in devices that vaporize or heat material for inhalation, whether or not they contain nicotine.

Bui Thanh Toan, representing Dak Lak, similarly warned about hybrid devices combining liquids with heated tobacco. He sought definitions covering devices and mixtures designed to create smoke or vapor for inhalation and imitate smoking.

Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, a deputy from Hai Phong, called for clearer legal features identifying electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and products resembling them, with detailed technical criteria set by the government. She also sought a distinction between products that function like vaping devices and objects that imitate their appearance and may promote tobacco.

Nga raised a separate concern about an exception allowing electronic transactions within the tobacco supply chain. She proposed making clear that it applies only to transactions between businesses, keeping online retail sales to individual consumers outside that exception.

Tran The Anh, representing Ninh Binh, sought restrictions on tobacco imagery in media intended exclusively or mainly for people under 18, including material distributed electronically. His proposal would retain an exception for tobacco harm prevention and education.

He argued that a rule covering only products made exclusively for children could miss videos and other content aimed mainly at young audiences on platforms used by all ages. Recommendation algorithms, the systems that select what users see next, can bring tobacco imagery to children who never searched for it.

Enforcement, schools and larger pack warnings

Bui Van Dung, representing Thanh Hoa, proposed concentrating inspections on retailers showing signs of violations or repeated breaches. Checks would cover product origins, sales to people under 18, selling locations and prohibited advertising.

Dung called for clear responsibilities for updating records, coordinating inspections and handling violations. He warned against giving commune authorities more duties without enough staff. He also proposed matching licensing requirements to business size and risk, with simpler confirmation procedures for small retailers and continued checks after approval.

For age verification, Anh said sellers could compare a customer's birth date on an identity card or VNeID, Vietnam's digital identity system, with the fixed cutoff. Toan suggested considering artificial intelligence and biometric verification when reviewing rules on tobacco vending machines.

Toan also proposed counseling to help young people stop using nicotine and public service activities for offenders under 18, rather than relying only on fines. For seized vaping devices, heated tobacco products and components, he sought hazardous waste procedures because of lithium batteries and chemicals, with offenders paying testing and disposal costs.

Ca Thi Tham, representing Lai Chau, supported extending smoking restrictions throughout education premises. She requested clear duties for school leaders on signs, checks, reminders and cooperation in handling violations, alongside communication suited to students' ages and languages.

Vu Van Tien, representing Hai Phong, proposed picture warnings covering at least 85% of each main face of cigarette packs, moving toward plain packaging. Plain packaging removes promotional branding while retaining required information and health warnings.

Lan supported reviewing warning sizes but asked parliament to leave the precise percentage to the government. She cited 2025 figures showing 77 countries with warning areas averaging at least 65%, 25 with at least 75%, and 11 with at least 85%. Her position leaves the size of Vietnam's proposed increase for further assessment.

Key Points

• Le Hoang Anh proposed a lifetime tobacco sales, supply, purchase and use ban for people born on or after January 1, 2010, beginning in 2028.
• Nguyen Hai Long proposed raising the purchasing age to 19 in 2028, 20 in 2029 and 21 in 2030.
• The government has kept 18 in the draft and says evidence is insufficient to include a generational ban.
• Ministry modeling cited by deputies projects about 3.07 million fewer male smokers by 2045 with strong compliance with a generational restriction.
• Other proposals address vaping substances, online sales, tobacco imagery reaching children, retail inspections, school premises and cigarette pack warnings.
• The proposed age restrictions have not become law.