People who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Vietnam's Central Endocrine Hospital has just reported that use of iodized salt in Hanoi has plunged from nearly 100% in 2005 to 25.6% today with "similar decreases" in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), according to Báomói.com. Tests in public school students have found a 25% increase in iodine deficiency.

Vietnam ended a decade-long push for salt iodization in 2005, announcing at that time that it had conquered iodine deficiency. The project was dropped by the national government and relegated to local governments "but did not received due attention." Funding was cut by a third. The deputy minister of health urged that iodine fortification be "diversified" to a "range of iodised food products" (beyond salt).