Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37669854›Full record

ArticleTobacco control2025

Smoking behaviour, tobacco sales and tobacco advertising at 40 'Smoke Free Hospitals' in Vietnam.

Joshua David Merritt, Pham Ngoc Yen, Nguyen Thu-Anh, Chau Quy Ngo, Vu Van Giap, Nguyen Viet Nhung, Bui Thi Ha, Ma Thu Thuy, Nguyen Thuy Anh, Nguyen Thuy An and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco control, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Perspectives on addiction-related problems in Vietnam.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Joshua David MerrittSydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0567-4114
Pham Ngoc YenRespiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nguyen Thu-AnhSydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Chau Quy NgoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vu Van GiapRespiratory Center, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nguyen Viet NhungMedical School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Bui Thi HaVietnam Steering Commitee on Smoking and Health (VINACOSH), Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ma Thu ThuyRespiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nguyen Thuy AnhRespiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Glebe, New South Wales, Australia.
Nguyen Thuy AnRespiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Glebe, New South Wales, Australia.
Guy Barrington MarksSouth Western Sydney School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Joel NeginSydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kavindhran VelenSydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Greg James FoxSydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia greg.fox@sydney.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-4085-1411

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death globally. Vietnam's 2012 Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms establishes all healthcare facilities as smoke-free environments. We aimed to evaluate the implementation of these policies within health facilities across Vietnam.

methodsA cross-sectional study was undertaken at 40 central, provincial, district and commune healthcare facilities in four provinces of Vietnam. The presence of tobacco sales, smoke-free signage, evidence of recent tobacco use and smoking behaviours by patients and staff were observed over a 1-week period at multiple locations within each facility. Adherence with national regulations was reported using descriptive statistics.

results23 out of 40 facilities (57.5%) followed the requirements of the national smoke-free policy regarding tobacco sales, advertising and signage. Smoking was observed within health facility grounds at 26 (65%) facilities during the observation period. Indirect evidence of smoking was observed at 35 (88%) facilities. Sites where smoking was permitted (n=2) were more likely to have observed smoking behaviour (relative risk (RR) 2.16, 95% CI 1.83 to 2.56). Facilities where tobacco was sold (n=7) were more likely to have smoking behaviour observed at any of their sites (RR 1.53, 95% CI 0.93 to 2.51).

conclusionsImplementation of current smoke-free hospital regulations remains incomplete, with widespread evidence of smoking observed at three levels of the Vietnamese healthcare facilities. Further interventions are required to establish the reputation of Vietnamese healthcare facilities as smoke-free environments.

Indexed as

AdvertisingCommerceSmoke-Free PolicySmokingCross-Sectional StudiesHospitalsHumansTobacco ProductsTobacco Smoke PollutionVietnamTobacco Smoke PollutionAdvertising and PromotionEnvironmentLow/Middle income countryPreventionSurveillance and monitoring

Identifiers

PMID37669854
PMCPMC11877051

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.