In the past 10 years, the number of beer drinkers in Vietnam increased by 200%. On average, each year Vietnam has an additional 1 million citizens turn 18, the age when they can consume alcohol legally.
"The amount of alcohol Vietnamese consume per capita is far from the top 100 in the world. But this is still worrying because this is in a context where less than 2% of Vietnamese women consume alcohol", Nguyen Phuong Nam - Staff of World Health Organisation - said.
This means that men are the main force for alcohol consumption in Vietnam. Up to a quarter of Vietnamese men consume a 'dangerous level' of alcohol, which WHO claims is more than 6 glass of beer.
"This is becoming a serious challenge to the health of the Vietnamese people. It brings a lot of related issues, such as cirrhosis, traffic accidents, and domestic violence", Nguyen Phuong Nam added.
60% of domestic violence cases in Vietnam are alcohol-related. In addition, high alcohol consumption leads to increasing number of cancer and diabetes. Some plans to limit alcohol consumption have been discussed, but the public's perception of alcohol consumption will take a long time to change.
