Vietnam cleans up TV dinners

By Clare Arthurs BBC Hanoi correspondent

Vietnam's cultural police have banned television advertisements which promote condoms and toilet paper from being shown at evening mealtimes.

Vietnamese diners will not be subjected to 'offensive' adverts

The country's carefully staged opening-up to the outside world has meant that its people are being exposed to many new products and practices.

But the Ministry of Culture and Information has ruled that some of the modern ways are offending Vietnamese sensibilities.

Officials at the ministry told the BBC that the ban followed numerous complaints from TV viewers.

The complainants said they did not like watching advertisements for condoms, toilet paper and women's sanitary products while they were eating their evening meal.

The ministry said it had made the ruling because the display of such products was unsuitable to the national psyche, manners and customs.

The ban, which also applies to products for skin complaints, will take effect once it has been published in the government legal gazette.

The products will also be banned from display at concerts and other events for public entertainment.

Tampons are not widely available in Vietnam, but advertisements for sanitary pads are common.

The promotion of condoms is only officially sanctioned to married couples.

But advertising and the increasing popularity of supermarkets are exposing the public to thousands of new products and ideas.

The latest decision does not reflect the concern in some quarters about the spread of HIV/Aids, nor the high number of unwanted teenage pregnancies.

But it will raise concern in the advertising industry, which has experienced a recent growth due in part to increased TV revenues.