Thousands of Factory Workers in Vietnam with Drug Addiction

The Alarming Truth: A Vast Number of Factory Workers in Vietnam Struggle with Drug Addiction

14:41 29/06/2023

Vietnam currently has more than 260,000 drug addicts aged 18-35, and thousands of them are workers at industrial parks and export-processing zones.

Two men at a drug rehabilitation facility in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Vietnam currently has more than 260,000 drug addicts aged 18-35, and thousands of them are workers at industrial parks and export-processing zones.

Ngo Duy Hieu, deputy chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, shared the information at a conference Tuesday on protecting workers from using drugs, saying most of those workers are from remote areas coming to work in cities and are left stressful due to the workflow and a life away from their families.

The recent layoff wave among many factories has resulted in many losing their jobs, making many of them depressed and looking at drugs as a solution, Hieu said.

Colonel Hoang Quoc Viet, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security's Drug Crime Investigation Department, said police have found narcotic substances in confectionery and heated tobacco products and many people could be consuming them by accident.

Last year, police busted 24,000 cases of drug crimes and arrested more than 36,000 people for drug-related offenses.