BACKGROUND: Vietnam passed the law on tobacco harm prevention and control in 2012, which bans smoking at public places. This compliance survey in Ninh Binh and Nghe An is the first one in Vietnam and would serve as the basis to design smoke-free models in these provinces.
METHODS: The survey followed the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s guideline on ‘Assessing compliance with smoke-free laws’. Data were collected by trained provincial data collectors in January 2024. Observations pertaining to evidence of smoking (observed smoking, cigarette butt litter, and the display of ashtrays), the required display of no-smoking signage, and the presence of designated smoking areas/rooms were conducted across seven different types of public venues (N=918) using an online observation form at REDCap. Descriptive data analysis was conducted to understand the level of compliance by venue types including the sub-types using SPSS.
RESULTS: Compliance with the composite indicator assessing evidence of smoking varied across venues but low in general; only 53.1% of all venues were compliant. Venues with the lowest level of compliance were government offices (39%), eating places (38.7%), accommodation venues (45.2%) and public transportation stations (28.6%). About one third of the venues complied with the regulation on displaying no-smoking signage. 73.2% government offices and 71.7% public transportation stations had the signage but only 5.2% eating places, 28.5% accommodation venues, 29.3% public service places, 41.2% education venues and 56.7% health facilities complied.
CONCLUSIONS: There is poor compliance with the smoke-free policy in both provinces. Displaying of no-smoking signage does not always guarantee compliance. Implementation and enforcement of the law must improve to protect the public from second-hand smoke. The findings of the survey have been used to inform the province on making plans for smoke-free cities at the provinces.