Thailand – The Thai Department of Disease Control has announced a new regulation requiring all cigarette and tobacco retailers nationwide to display campaign media aimed at reducing, stopping, and quitting smoking and tobacco use at their points of sale. This mandate will take effect on August 21st.
Retailers are encouraged to participate in the “#Quit Smoking for Your Loved Ones” campaign by displaying the designated media at their tobacco retail locations. Business operators can obtain the campaign materials through two channels:
1. **Ready-to-use media**: Available at all Excise Department offices nationwide.
2. **Downloadable prototype media**: Accessible from the Tobacco Product Control Committee’s website at http://ddc.moph.go.th/otpc/journal_d
Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a fine not exceeding 5,000 baht, as stipulated in Section 36, Paragraph Three, of the Tobacco Product Control Act B.E. 2560.
This initiative is part of a broader effort to promote public health and reduce the prevalence of smoking-related illnesses. Retailers are urged to support this campaign and contribute to a healthier community.
It does NOT appear that this currently extends to marijuana or cannabis shops as final regulatory laws for this industry are still not complete, with the Thai government recently pledging to regulate, but not recriminalize, the controversial industry that is now estimated to be worth over a billion baht and rapidly growing.
Feedback on the new regulation online was mixed, notes TPN Media, with many people stating that they believed additional warning signage on top of every package already being covered in graphic warnings and restricted from all advertising, unlikely to phase most existing smokers.
Vaping has also been rapidly rising in Thailand, especially amongst youth, despite being strictly illegal.
Photo credit Thai National News Bureau.
