Viet Nam Parliament Approves Major Alcohol Tax Increase
In a major breakthrough for public health and social development, Viet Nam’s National Assembly has voted to increase excise taxes on alcoholic beverages by 90% by 2031. This incremental tax reform, starting in 2026, marks a crucial moment in the country’s decades-long effort to reverse the rising alcohol harm and alcohol industry interference.
This is a long-awaited breakthrough,” said Kristina Sperkova, President of Movendi International.
Alcohol harm in Viet Nam has risen sharply over the last decades, but with the historic decision to raise alcohol taxes, the National Assembly is putting the health of the people first. The alcohol tax increase has the potential to become a quadruple win for the people of Viet Nam:
to substantially reduce alcohol consumption, harm and costs in Viet Nam; to raise much needed government revenue; to boost sustainable development outcomes; and to improve health equity and social justice.”
Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International
The Alcohol Tax Reform At A Glance
National Assembly members voted on June 14, 2025 to approve the revised Excise Tax Law, raising tobacco and alcohol taxes, and introducing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Viet Nam’s lawmakers approved raising the tax on beer and high-strength alcoholic beverages to 90% by 2031 from the current 65%. The tax rate on liquor with more than 20% alcohol content and all beers will rise five percentage points yearly from 2027 before reaching 90% in 2031 under the National Assembly’s new legislation.
Three elements of Viet Nam’s alcohol tax increase are remarkable. The country’s alcohol tax reform entails:
- Reducing alcohol affordability – a key driver of population-level alcohol use and early alcohol use initiation.
- Preventing early initiation into alcohol consumption and heavy alcohol consumption, especially among working-age men.
- Mobilising domestic resources to invest in health, education, and poverty alleviation.
Viet Nam’s alcohol tax reform aligns with WHO’s alcohol policy “Best Buys”, and is backed by robust, world-class economic evidence:
- The Copenhagen Consensus Center ranks alcohol taxation as the third most cost-effective policy solution to tackle NCDs and accelerate SDG progress.
- An alcohol tax increase alone can generate large social benefits at $53 back on the dollar.
In December 2023, the World Health Organization unveiled data underscoring the globally prevalent inadequacy of taxation on unhealthy products, including alcohol. The report revealed a widespread deficiency in employing alcohol taxes as a means to prevent and reduce harm and promote health. In addition, WHO issued a technical manual specifically addressing alcohol tax policy and administration, aiming to provide essential support for countries. The WHO report advocates for the implementation of excise taxes across all categories of alcoholic beverages.
Evidence-Based Action in the Face of Alarming Harm
The decision comes as new data reveals the scale and severity of the alcohol burden in Viet Nam:
- Alcohol caused 46,156 deaths in 2021 – 6.6% of all deaths nationwide.
- Alcohol is the number one risk factor for death and disease among 15–49-year-olds.
- Since 1990, alcohol-related deaths have increased by 475%, and the number of years lost to poor health due to alcohol (DALYs) has surged by 368%.
- The number of deaths caused by alcohol-related cancer and cardiovascular disease has grown by 625% and by staggering 6411%, respectively.
Viet Nam is also facing rising harm among youth:
- Nearly 43% of males aged 15–19 are current alcohol users .
- The prevalence of heavy episodic alcohol use among men aged 15+ is 45.4%, one of the highest rates in the region.
The finance ministry has said the aim of the alcohol tax increase was to curb alcohol consumption, harm, and costs, as per VN Express reporting. Viet Nam is one of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region with the highest alcohol burden.
The costs from alcohol harm amount to 3.3% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).
From “Beer War” to Public Health Victory
Notably, the initial alcohol tax increase proposal last year had the alcohol tax rising to 100%. But alcohol industry interference kept delaying the alcohol tax reform and even seemed to derail it entirely.
Global beer industry giants Heineken and Carlsberg, as well as Sabeco that is controlled by alcohol industry giant ThaiBev, and Habeco (partially controlled by Carlsberg) are powerful players in the alcohol market and have mounted massive lobbying campaigns against alcohol taxation and previously against Viet Nam’s initiatives to develop a world class, modern, evidence-based alcohol law.
The road to this decision was long and contested. In 2019, Viet Nam adopted its first alcohol control law after heated debate. Movendi International and local partners supported that effort, despite fierce pushback from the alcohol industry.
The 2019 law was watered down due to alcohol industry interference, which Movendi exposed in a series of reports:
In early 2018 the Ministry of Health began another attempt at adopting a draft law on Alcohol Harm Prevention, which had been in the making for multiple years. But at the same time a beer war between Big Alcohol giant Heineken and local industry giant Sabeco was unfolding – indicating the relentless competition for dominance of the alcohol market in Viet Nam.
At the time, Viet Nam was Asia’s third-largest beer market, after China and Japan. Beer volumes had been rising by an average 6.6% for the past six years – a massively lucrative market for Big Alcohol. For example, between 2015 and 2019, Heineken’s Viet Nam sales jumped by double-digit percentages. At the time, Viet Nam was Heineken’s second-largest source of profit after Mexico. Analysts estimate Viet Nam accounted for over 10% of the €3.87 billion ($4.3 billion) Heineken made in operating income before one-off items in 2018.
The alcohol industry deployed aggressive and unethical lobbying practices to delay and derail the alcohol law. There were reports that some lawmakers had traveled abroad at the invitation of alcohol companies before the bill came up for discussion. And the alcohol industry was successful in their lobbying efforts, as provision after provision got deleted from the draft alcohol law.
Ultimately, a watered down alcohol law got adopted.
The Alcohol Harm Prevention law was passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2019 and came into effect in the beginning of 2020. Among other provisions the law included a ban on driving under the influence of alcohol.
Since the new laws, beer sales have seen a 25% drop. According to reports, traffic police has fined around 6,300 drivers and issued fines totalling 21 billion across the country in the two weeks after the law came into effect. Fatal accidents dropped by around 13% compared to the previous fortnight.
But raising alcohol taxes—the most effective policy tool—remained unfinished business.
Alcohol Industry Interference Exposed
Since 2020, the alcohol industry mounted intense campaigns to block tax reform – similar to the lobbying against the country’s alcohol law:
- April 2022: Fiscal Policy Reform Creates Roadmap for Alcohol Tax Increase in Viet Nam – Deputy Prime Minister Le Linh Khai approved the Strategy for Tax System Reform till 2030. As per the strategy, the country will adopt a road map to increase excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products.
- May 2022: Big Alcohol SABECO partnered with the Youth Union to enhance legitimacy and expand influence.
- July 2022: Big Alcohol Is Lobbying to Delay Alcohol Tax Increase in Viet Nam.
- March 2023: Heineken lobbied against the alcohol tax increase and pressured lawmakers.
- November 2024: International study exposes alcohol industry capture of government in Viet Nam – Habeco, one of the largest brewers in the country, is owned by the government and has a strategic partnership with the transnational corporation Carlsberg Group.
- April 2025: Alcohol industry lobbying delayed the tax proposal multiple times, with efforts to postpone it until 2027.
A Regional Model for Progressive Policy
Movendi International supported civil society and the government for decades towards the adoption of the alcohol law. Similarly, Movendi International provided tecnical assistance and capacity building to partners towards the adoption of the alcohol tax reform.
A 2022 study found that industry actors were shaping alcohol policy in Viet Nam unchecked – with Movendi among the few voices pushing back.
Viet Nam is showing the world what ambition and political will can achieve,” said Pubudu Sumanasekara, Vice President of Movendi International.
This tax reform closes the chapter on years of corporate interference and opens a new one focused on protecting lives, reducing inequality, and raising resources for people-centered development. The alcohol tax increase is a signal to all countries facing similar challenges.
Movendi International celebrates this decision as a victory for people, communities, and science. And we will continue to stand with our partners and members in Viet Nam as implementation begins.”
Pubudu Sumanasekara, International Vice President, Movendi International
The National Assembly vote support the leadership of the Minister of Finance, Nguyen Van Thang, and the Minister of Health, Dao Hong Lan, and the significant efforts of the Department of the Tax Policies, Fees and Charges Supervisory Authority at the Ministry of Finance; the Department of Legislation at the Ministry of Health; the Viet Nam National Tobacco Control Fund; the Health Strategy and Policy Institute under the Ministry of Health; and other key local and international public health partners, to protect the future of Viet Namese youth and community health.
WHO Representative in Viet Nam Dr Angela Pratt congratulated the Government of Viet Nam on adopting increased and new taxes on these unhealthy products, which will contribute to a healthier and more prosperous country:
WHO is very pleased that law makers have seized this opportunity to achieve a ‘win-win’ of reducing the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – and therefore reducing harm and health costs for decades to come – while generating additional revenue for key Government priorities.
Reducing consumption of these unhealthy products will improve population health, and in doing so, workforce participation and productivity.
WHO commends law makers for their careful deliberations and for their vote for the health of the people of Viet Nam,” ” said Dr Pratt, according to the World Health Organization.
In Viet Nam, high rates of smoking, alcohol consumption and rapidly rising consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, including amongst youth, are threats to both health and economic growth.
The vote is an important step which will contribute to Viet Nam’s national and international targets and commitments to reduce rates of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption in particular. They create a valuable basis for future increases in tax, and therefore price, to reduce consumption of these harmful products.
With this vote, Viet Nam moves from a country once gripped by the “beer war” to a regional pioneer of health-driven fiscal policy.
Sources
Reuters: “Vietnam parliament approves hiking tax on alcoholic drinks to 90% by 2031”
South China Morning Post: “Tears for cheers: Vietnam to raise alcohol tax to 90% by 2031”
The Star: “Vietnam parliament approves hiking tax on alcoholic drinks to 90% by 2031”
Business Inquirer: “Vietnam approves 90 percent tax rate on beer, strong alcohol by 2031”
VN Express: “Vietnam to hike alcohol tax to 90% by 2031 in crackdown on drinking”
Vietnam Net: “Sugary drinks, alcohol, and cigarettes to face higher taxes in Vietnam”
Just Drinks: “Vietnam to raise alcohol tax, introduce levy on sugary drinks”
ESM: “Vietnam Parliament Approves Hiking Tax On Alcoholic Drinks To 90% By 2031”