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Vietnam cracks down on drink driving, causing beer sales to drop 25 per cent

  • Under the new law, people driving automobiles or trucks under the influence can be fined as much as 40 million dong (US$1,720) and lose their licence
  • Vietnam is one of the world’s fastest-growing beer markets but there have been several high-profile alcohol-related accidents

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A Vietnamese man drinking during a local beer festival in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

Vietnam’s new tough-on-drink-driving law is taking the fizz out of one of the world’s fastest-growing beer markets.

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Beer sales in the country have dropped by at least 25 per cent since strict penalties on inebriated drivers took effect on January 1, while the police have issued more than 6,200 fines, according to local media. Beer companies, which complain that the punishments are too harsh, have cut prices to shore up demand ahead of the boozy Tet Lunar New Year holiday.

Vietnam’s crackdown, a response to several high-profile accidents last year, has come as surprise to many in the nation of hearty drinkers with a history of flouting alcohol restrictions – a law banning civil servants from drinking during work hours is widely ignored. The country’s beer consumption has nearly quadrupled since 2004, attracting global brewers from Heineken NV to Anheuser-Busch InBev looking for growth.

Under the new law, motorbike drivers can face fines as high as 8 million dong (US$345), double the previous maximum, and a possible suspension of a driving licence for two years, up from five months previously. Those driving automobiles or trucks under the influence may be hit with a penalty of as much as 40 million dong and a licence suspension. The law also requires alcohol advertising to include health warnings and stores to post signs announcing the ban on alcohol sales to those younger than 18.

Authorities appear to be taking implementation seriously. In the first half of January, the Ministry of Public Security’s traffic department issued fines totalling 21 billion dong in 6,279 cases, Vietnam News reported.

A series of fatal accidents last year involving drunk drivers, including one in which a photo of boy weeping next to his dead mother’s body spread on social media, led to a protest in Hanoi against lenient alcohol laws. The outcry and lobbying by the Ministry of Health and female politicians such as Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the nation’s first National Assembly chairwoman, helped pass the law, said Vu Tu Thanh, senior Vietnam representative of the US-Asean Business Council.

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Health officials say Vietnam’s soaring alcohol consumption is causing public health problems. An estimated 79,000 deaths a year are tied to alcohol, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

More than 80 per cent of the nation’s drinkers are men and abuse of alcohol is leading to increasing societal harms, including vehicle accidents, domestic violence and social disorder, said Le Thi Thu, a programme manager with the Hanoi-based HealthBridge Foundation of Canada. Negative effects of alcohol abuse are equal to 1.3 per cent to 3.3 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to the WHO.

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