Exposure to Tobacco Advertising, Promotion Among the Adult Population in Vietnam and Its Implications for Public Health

Introduction: The Law on Tobacco Control and the Law on Advertisement prohibit the advertising of any tobacco product in Vietnam. Tobacco promotion and marketing are alsostrictly prohibited. However, the violation of tobacco adverting and promotion is still common in Vietnam.

Objectives: This article aims at describing the exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion among the population aged 15+ years in Vietnam based on the data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2015 from the view of the community, identifying any possible associations between the exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion and other individual factors, and discussing its possible public health implications.

Method: A cross-sectional study with the nationwide scale. Secondary data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2015 was explored and analyzed. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regressions were applied in the data analysis.

Results: The most common type of adults' exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion was points of sale (8.6%); 9.8% adults exposure to one source of tobacco advertising and 4.0% of them exposed to one source of tobacco promotion. Around 13.3% of Vietnamese adults were exposed to tobacco advertisement, while 2.0% were exposed to tobacco promotion, 5.3% were exposed to both tobacco advertising and promotion, and 16.6% were exposed to tobacco advertising or promotion. Gender, educational level, age, occupation, marital status, socioeconomic status, location (urban, rural), and current smoking status were associated with the exposure to tobacco advertising, tobacco promotion, tobacco advertising and promotion, and tobacco advertising or promotion.

Conclusion and recommendation: Although there are comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and promotion in Vietnam, adults aged 15+ years still reported their exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion. There should be a strict enforcement of the ban on tobacco advertising and promotion in Vietnam.