Vietnamese people fume over smoking while driving, fed up with flying cigarette ash

Ngoc Anh, a resident of Can Tho City in southern Vietnam, was still shaken as she recalled how a cigarette filter once landed on her while she was waiting at a red light on Le Hong Phong Street.

“Luckily, I spotted it quickly and happened to be wearing a sun-protective skirt. Otherwise, I would have been burned,” Anh said.

“I guess it was thrown away by someone who was also waiting at the red light,” she added.

Thanh Thuy, another Can Tho resident, said she had also been hit by cigarette ash while riding a motorbike.

In early August, Thuy was riding to her daughter's house to visit her granddaughter.

As she was about to turn onto Nguyen Van Troi Street, a cigarette ember from a man riding ahead hit her in the eye.

Although her eye was burning and painful, Thuy managed to continue riding to her daughter's house, where she washed her eye with saline solution.

She later bought medicine from a pharmacy and recovered after taking it six times.

Since then, Thuy has worn glasses whenever she rides her motorbike to protect her eyes.

According to Thuy, smoking is a personal choice, but smokers should be mindful of where and when they smoke.

“I think smoking while driving is very dangerous. When one hand is on the handlebars and the other is holding a cigarette, it creates a safety risk,” she said.

“Not to mention that when people smoke while driving, they may accidentally flick cigarette ash or throw cigarette filters onto the road after finishing a cigarette, affecting other road users,” she added.

“Unextinguished cigarette butts and filters flying around can also cause fires.”

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper reader named Yen also recalled an incident in which cigarette ash from a smoker riding ahead hit her face.

“The cigarette ash flew into my face, making my eyes sting and burn, and I could barely see for a moment,” she recalled.

“Fortunately, I had a steady hand and managed to pull over to the roadside.

“What if the person behind the wheel had poor control of their vehicle? This behavior should be severely punished.”

The story shared by another reader, Thang, was even more distressing: “I have a friend who was a victim of someone smoking while on the road. A still-burning cigarette flew into my friend’s eye, leaving them permanently blind in one eye.”

Tuoi Tre observed that many people still casually smoke cigarettes while riding motorcycles on the streets.

Some even reach into their pockets to take out a pack of cigarettes, light one and smoke while waiting at a red light as if they were at home.

The same behavior is seen among many car drivers.

They roll down their windows and smoke, sticking their hands outside to flick cigarette ash everywhere.

Cigarette smoke does not just affect people nearby. Cigarette ash, filters and butts also cause other nuisances.

Smoking while driving should be banned

A Tuoi Tre reader named Tuan said he had witnessed and also been a victim of cigarette ash flying at him while riding behind someone who was smoking.

He said strict penalties should be introduced as soon as possible and the practice should be specifically addressed in the law.

“There should be a law banning smoking while operating a vehicle because it affects many other people on the road,” reader Nhan suggested.

“I was once burned by someone else’s cigarette ash. Having cigarette ash fly into your eyes while riding is extremely dangerous.

“Not to mention that cigarette smoke can reach pregnant women and young children when they are outdoors.”

Not only on the streets, many readers are also frustrated by having to endure cigarette smoke in public places.

“The worst is when I go to the park to exercise,” one commented. “I just wish there were strict laws and heavy fines like in Singapore.”

According to a lawyer, there is currently no specific offense for which a person can be fined simply for smoking while driving.

However, a motorcycle rider who flicks cigarette ash or throws a cigarette filter or butt onto the road may be subject to penalties under environmental protection regulations.

Under Point a, Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree No. 45/2022, improperly discarding cigarette filters, cigarette butts or ash in public places is punishable by a fine of VND100,000 to VND150,000 (US$$3.83 to 5.75).