Ministry of Health proposes tobacco tax hikeThe Ministry of Health (MoH) has proposed to raise the tax imposed on a pack of cigarettes to 2,000 VND (0.088 USD). Currently, tax on tobacco is 70 percent of their prices. The taxation policy aims to gain an additional tobacco tax revenue of 6,300 billion VND (280 million USD) per year, decreasing the rate of male smokers by three percent and reducing 300,000 early deaths caused by smoking. Experts believe the low price of tobacco products is the main cause leading to its widespread use. “A tax increase of 10 percent is estimated to reduce tobacco consumption by four percent in developed countries and by five percent in developing countries.