Vietnam bans smoking - again

If you're a non-smoker like me, you'll be happy with Vietnam's recently announced second attempt to ban smoking in most public spaces - including restaurants and bars. The assault on the lungs that occasions many dining experiences, most cafe stops and nearly all bar outings here, is a major drag - pardon the pun. If you're a member of staff in one of the country's enclosed restaurants and bars, you're likely to be pleased with the news as well.



Chances are though, if you're a Vietnamese man, an upwardly mobile young Vietnamese woman or one of the foreign exiles who love Vietnam for its permissive smoking laws, you'll feel your cherished rights under threat. This is a nation whose men folk dearly love their cigarettes.

The statistics say that nearly half of Vietnamese men smoke. If you were to take a sample of men aged 18 - 50, my guess is the number would be far higher.

And it would start tipping 80% - 90% if you were to include alcohol swilling bar hopping males. They're the ones you'll notice in your travels. And they represent a far higher percentage of the bar and restaurant population than you'd have ever encountered in the days before smoking was banned in restaurants and bars in most western nations.

Add the fact that the average bar in Vietnam has no proper ventilation - just domestic air conditioning - and you've got a very toxic cloud forced on you in many of country's most popular nightspots. Some restaurants have taken action to separate smokers and non-smokers but a surprising number still practice forced integration...

You'll definitely feel it in your throat the next day. And you'll sure smell it in your clothes and hair, and on your skin too. But that's nothing compared to what's happening in your lungs.

As an aside, it's interesting that many westerners here - travellers and expats alike - in deference to local culture no doubt, are happy to cast aside all they know about dining etiquette and passive smoking, and submerge your newly arrived meal in cigarette smoke. They're a curious crowd.

It might seem a little odd for a travel blog to take such an interest in smoking - as if the inconvenience to non-smoking travellers rates alongside the national health crisis that smoking constitutes here. But the passive smoking question is a real one for many travellers.

And Vietnam's love affair with the cigarette is a point of curiousity too. What the hell is this smoking fascination all about anyway? How has the globalisation of Vietnam's economy impacted on smoking rates?

Vietnam's been down this public health road before. In 2008 after several attempts over several years, laws mandating that motorcyclists and their passengers wear helmets finally succeeded in being followed by the population. Initial attempts were ignored and many said the government would never be able to force people to wear helmets. This might be a rigid authoritarian state but a libertarian streak prevails in the population.

In the case of helmets, the trick was to add some education to the more familiar big stick approach to law enforcement.

Apart from Hanoi, where a hard core of helmet resistors remains in evidence, it's rare to see helmetless motorcyclists these days. And that must have reduced the head injuries on Vietnam's perilous roads dramatically.

The exception is children and infants, whose fragile heads seem to be curiously exempt from the rule.

A previous attempt at enforcing non-smoking laws a few years ago, went the same way as early helmet laws and had no impact in most places except airports and government offices. Though the number of bars and restaurants adopting some non-smoker friendly measures has increased since then.

Let's hope the most recent incarnation of the decision includes a clever combination of sticks, carrots and education to ensure it takes hold. It won't be easy.

No western government faced the smoking rates of Vietnam when they enacted similar laws. Controls on smokers are likely to be very unpopular across a large segment of the population - smokers. But that fact alone makes the health imperatives all the more urgent.


Here's a tentative list of smoke free or non-smoker friendly cafes and bars before the new law takes effect next year - assuming it does. Send us your suggestions to info@rustycompass.com and we'll update the listing.

Non-smoking options - Saigon

Kita Cafe - Inside is non-smoking.The more pleasant outdoor area is where the smokers gather.
Au Parc - Like Kita, the more pleasant outdoor terrace is where the smokers congregate. Indoors is no smoking.
L'Usine - No smoking inside.
Martini Bar Park Hyatt Hotel - No smoking
Sheridan's Irish Bar - Has a dedicated smoking section and proper ventilation.


Non smoking options - Hanoi

Southgate
Hanoi Social Club
Son Tinh Lounge

If you know of more non-smoker friendly venues, let us know - info@rustycompass.com