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Cost effectiveness of tobacco control policies in Vietnam

The case of population-level interventions

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Abstract

Background

Tobacco smoking is one of the leading public health problems in the world. It is also possible to prevent and/or reduce the harm from tobacco use through the use of cost-effective tobacco control measures. However, most of this evidence comes from developed countries and little research has been conducted on this issue in developing countries.

Objective

The objective of this study was to analyse the cost effectiveness of four population-level tobacco control interventions in Vietnam.

Methods

Four tobacco control interventions were evaluated: excise tax increase; graphic warning labels on cigarette packs; mass media campaigns; and smoking bans (in public or in work places). A multi-state life table model was constructed in Microsoft® Excel to examine the cost effectiveness of the tobacco control intervention options. A government perspective was adopted, with costing conducted using a bottom-up approach. Health improvement was considered in terms of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted. All assumptions were subject to sensitivity and uncertainty analysis.

Results

All the interventions fell within the definition of being very cost effective according to the threshold level suggested by the WHO (i.e. <GDP per capita). Graphic warning labels on cigarette packs was the most cost-effective option, followed by excise tax increases, mass media campaigns, public smoking bans and work place smoking bans. If the cost offset was included in the analysis, all interventions would provide cost savings to the government health sector.

Conclusions

All four interventions to reduce the harm from tobacco use appear to be highly cost effective and should be considered as priorities in the context of Vietnam. The government may initially consider graphic warning labels and tax increase, followed by other interventions.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies under the ‘Developing the Evidence Base for Health Policy in Vietnam’ project. The agency had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review or approval of the manuscript.

The authors would like to extend their highest appreciation to the individuals from the School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, including Dr Coral E. Gartner for her significant advice on tobacco issues and prevalence modelling, and Associate Professor Peter S. Hill and Dr Anh D. Ngo for their extended support in facilitating the study. Jan J. Barendregt owns EpiGear, which sells the Ersatz software used in the analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Hideki Higashi, Jan J. Barendregt & Angela L. Wallace

  2. Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Khoa D. Truong, Phuong K. Nguyen, Mai L. Vuong, Thuy T. Nguyen, Phuong T. Hoang, Tien V. Tran & Cuong Q. Le

  3. Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA

    Khoa D. Truong

  4. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Christopher M. Doran

  5. Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

    Christopher M. Doran

  6. School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, 4006, Australia

    Hideki Higashi

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  1. Hideki Higashi
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Correspondence to Hideki Higashi.

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Higashi, H., Truong, K.D., Barendregt, J.J. et al. Cost effectiveness of tobacco control policies in Vietnam. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 9, 183–196 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2165/11539640-000000000-00000

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