Hotels in Vietnam Risk Losing Smoke-Free Accolades if Guests Smoke in Banned Indoor Areas

Speaking at the launch ceremony for the second edition of the “Exemplary Smoke-Free Hotels” ranking on September 22, Tran Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Disease Prevention Fund under the Ministry of Health, warned that tobacco consumption severely undermines socioeconomic development. Furthermore, he noted that smoking obstructs national healthcare targets and public health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms, hotels and tourist lodging establishments must prohibit indoor smoking. However, properties may designate segregated smoking sections. These designated spaces must meet rigorous safety requirements, including isolated rooms with dedicated ventilation systems, ashtrays, clear signage, and functioning fire prevention apparatus.

The launching ceremony of the Exemplary Smoke-Free Hotels rankings. 

Notably, the law encourages hoteliers to implement 100% smoke-free indoor policies across all facilities. This framework establishes an essential legal ground to eliminate indoor tobacco smoke, ensuring citizens and visitors enjoy the right to live and work in clean, unpolluted air.

Progress in Curbing Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Thanks to coordinated enforcement strategies, secondhand smoke exposure in hotels dropped by 14.6% in 2024 compared to 2020 benchmarks. Despite these measurable improvements, hotels and restaurants still register higher secondhand smoke exposure rates than many other smoke-free public venues.

Consequently, fostering smoke-free tourism environments provides tangible protection for local residents, service workers, and travelers. Furthermore, smoke-free policies create pristine hospitality spaces, enhance workplace air quality, and demonstrate commercial responsibility toward community well-being.

In 2025, authorities launched the inaugural nationwide “Exemplary Smoke-Free Hotels” initiative, driving visible compliance with national tobacco control regulations.

Revocation Threats for Non-Compliant Establishments

According to Nguyen Anh Vu, Editor-in-Chief of Van Hoa (Culture) Newspaper, the 2026 campaign focuses on evaluating lodging providers that stringently enforce anti-tobacco guidelines, implement concrete operating procedures, and maintain genuine smoke-free conditions on a daily basis. Through these selections, organizers will highlight effective operational blueprints for other properties to adopt nationwide.

Crucially, if inspectors uncover falsified disclosures or find that a property fails to maintain its environmental commitments, authorities will review its accreditation. This scrutiny may lead to immediate disqualification or the official revocation of its smoke-free title.

To ensure ongoing compliance, organizers carried out unannounced spot inspections in early August 2026 across ten certified hotels in Ho Chi Minh City that earned honors during the 2025 debut cycle. Inspection reports confirmed that all ten audited properties successfully maintained clean air standards and adhered to smoke-free operating criteria.

(Source: cand.com.vn)