A communication campaign was launched in Ha Noi on July 15 in a bid to raise public awareness on the ban on selling alcohol to children and teenagers under the age of 18.

An accident on Thuan Phuoc Bridge in Da Nang on July 13 (Photo: VNA)

This move is part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to implement the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors, as stipulated by the Government Decree 94/2012/ND-CP.

The campaign will be piloted in 100 alcohol shops in Ha Noi in July and expanded to 300 more in early 2016.

It will help limit minors’ access to and the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and reduce the prevalence of drunk driving, which is responsible for the majority of road accidents and traffic fatalities.

The campaign was launched by the Viet Nam Association of Responsible Drinking and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC).

In the first half of 2015, Viet Nam recorded 11,179 traffic accidents, resulting in 4,478 deaths. This marks a decline in accidents of 1,648 cases, or 12.85 percent, with 211 fewer fatalities and 2,114 fewer injuries compared to last year, according to the NTSC.

NTSC Vice Chairman Khuat Viet Hung told Viet Nam News Agency’s e-newspaper Vietnamplus.vn earlier this month that 2.4 percent of drivers stopped by the police in the first six months of 2015 were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol, a drastic increase from 0.49 percent in 2014.

From December 2014 to February 2015, the NTSC ran a campaign on traffic safety. During this period, only 6.8 percent of total traffic violations were linked to drunk, he added.

(Source: VNA)