Program for June 14, 2009

SHOULD WE BAN SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES?

There’s very clear evidence that smoking causes severe damage to our heath. According to a very extensive research in the UK^[1], smoking is the top risk factor for lung cancer (90%) and for all cancer-related death (29%). It is, therefore, not surprising that governments around the world have taken steps to discourage people from smoking. From Boston, New York, Hong Kong to Tokyo, local governments have enacted laws banning smoking in public places like schools, offices, parks, stations, etc. Even in restaurants, bars and cafés, smoking is prohibited unless it’s done in smoker-only rooms.

Since 2005, the Vietnamese Health Ministry has been drafting a law banning smoking in some but not all public spaces. But until now, the law has not been enacted due to various oppositions from the tobacco industry as well as from some government officials. As a result, according to WHO^[2], Vietnam still has one of the highest smoking rates in the world with 56.1% of men and 1.8% of women being active smokers.

So what is your opinion on this issue? Should we enact a law to ban smoking in all public spaces?

Discussion Questions

1. Please list all the reasons why the law banning smoking in public places should be enacted.
2. Please list all the reasons why the above law should not be enacted.
3. What do you think are the obstacles that prevent Vietnam from enacting and implementing the above law? How should we try to overcome them?

References

1. “Tobacco and Cancer Risks”, http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/causes/lifestyle/tobacco/
2. “Smoking a bigger killer than Vietnam’s roads”, http://www.vietnewsonline.vn/News/Society/6143/Smoking-a-bigger-killer-than-Vietnams-roads.htm

Vocabulary

evidence (noun):

bằng chứng

obstacle (noun):

trở ngại

enact (verb):

thông qua, ban hành, làm một đạo luật có hiệu lực

implement (verb):

trong ngữ cảnh của bài này: thực thi một đạo luật (bao gồm cơ chế kiểm soát và sử lý)

overcome (verb):

vượt qua, khắc phục, “overcome an obstacle”: vượt qua một trở ngại

severe (adjective):

nặng nề, dữ dội, nghiêm trọng

extensive (adjective):

quy mô lớn, có phạm vi rộng