Celebs join no-tobacco event with 2,000 youths in HCM City
A number of Vietnamese celebrities took part on May 28 in an event in Ho Chi Minh City, calling people to say no to tobacco.
The event, taking place at the Youth Cultural House in District 1, was aimed to celebrate the World No Tobacco Day (May 31) and the National Anti-Tobacco Week.
The ceremony attracted nearly 2,000 youths, hailing from citywide universities and colleges, besides such public figures as film directors Le Hoang and Dinh Anh Dung, actress Lan Phuong, and local singers Duc Tuan, Van Mai Huong, Noo Phuoc Thinh and Quoc Thien.
The celebs treated the young audience to various performances, then joined them in discussions meant to encourage abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption.
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| Singer Van Mai Huong performs during an event celebrating the World No Tobacco Day (May 31) in Ho Chi Minh City on May 28, 2016. |
Singer Duc Tuan sent his message through a song named “Moi ngay toi chon mot niem vui,” which means “every day I choose a joy.”
“We can choose a meaningful thing to do when a new day arrives, but please never choose tobacco,” he told the audience.
When she was on stage, actress Lan Phuong was asked to comment on a common conception that smoking makes men look manly and stylistic.
“Manliness and maturity of a man are expressed via his behavior and manner, not the tobacco,” she replied.
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The actress also hoped that a law that ban smoking in eateries, bars, coffee shops, and other public places, even in film studios, will soon be imposed.
The event wrapped up with a flash mob performed by many young people, followed by bicycle parade to encourage people to give up smoking.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are calling on all countries to get ready for plain packaging of tobacco products.
Plain packaging is an important demand reduction measure that reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, restricts use of tobacco packaging as a form of tobacco advertising and promotion, limits misleading packaging and labeling, and increases the effectiveness of health warnings, WHO said on its website.
For the World Tobacco Day 2016, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has also launched a campaign called “Life without smoke.”
