Thailand Struggles With Vape Ban
Ministers have been reduced to inventing statistics in the face of a ban that is clearly failing on the ground – and causing multiple issues because the black market is in control
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by Dave Cross
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Thai politicians have been reduced to inventing statistics in the face of a ban that is clearly failing on the ground – and causing multiple issues because the black market is in control. Thailand claims vaping is down by 80%, but locals say this simply isn’t the case. Illicit products remain in wide supply, including unregulated cannabis vapes, and the ban has resulted in increased criminal activity including a raid on a customs warehouse.
Deputy Government Spokesman Anukool Pruksanusak told the media that there has been a massive 80% decline in both sales and vaping rates thanks to police action enforcing the ban on vape importation and sales.
At the same time, a study by researchers at Ramathibodi Hospital claim teen vaping rates have gone up from 5.8% in 2019 to 12.2%.
Given that vaping is illegal, quite where either Anukool or Ramathibodi Hospital get their figures from is a mystery – but then truth and evidence have a different quality for Thai politicians and tobacco controllers. For example, Ramathibodi Hospital went on to state that vaping causes “COPD, stroke, heart disease, and asthma” and costs the Thai economy the equivalent of almost £7 million. This claim of harm to health runs contrary to all trusted evidence about vaping and tobacco harm reduction.
Currently, importers run the risk of 10 years in prison and fines totalling five times the value of illegal products they are discovered with. Retailers face 3-year prison sentences and fines approaching £1400. And some government ministers even claim that vapers run the risk of prosecution and a 5-year sentence or fines of four times the value of their device.
The government has been encouraging the public to grass on vapers, retailers and importers through the use of its Thang Rath mobile app.
Anukool Pruksanusak said: “The public’s support is essential. Together, we can clear the air for the next generation. Indeed, this collective endeavour is echoing across the nation’s consciousness, drawing a determined line in the sandy beaches of public health.”
From all accounts, take-up of the invitation to report vapers and sellers has been low.
There is an issue here in that others are stating there is no ban on adults having a device and vaping.
Thai vape advocate Asa Saligupta spoke about this matter to the Global Forum on Nicotine’s GFNTV about the situation: “The problem that occurred was there are some, let me say it, bad, you know quote end-quote, bad officials. They’re trying to see loopholes of the laws and they will say ‘Okay, if you possess illegal items’, which actually vaping devices are not, it’s illegal to import…and to distribute, but it’s not an illegal product per se – so you can possess it and can also use it. It’s not illegal to possess and to use it.”
Meanwhile, not only are vapes easy to access, but illegal cannabis-infused electronic cigarettes are proliferating due to the fact that cannabis is currently legal.
Police Colonel Anek Sathongyoo, Chief of Pattaya City Police Station, Police Major Siriwat Kachamat and Police Major Suchart Dusadee announced the need for a special operations team to conduct sting operations to root out the devices.
A measure of the success is that at the end of operations they had raided one shop, arrested one man, and seized just £400’s worth of products.
Even where there is claimed success, the ban is driving terrible outcomes.
Customs officers at Khlong Toei port (Bangkok’s major cargo port) impounded five containers containing vapes and placed them into the Port Authority of Thailand’s warehouse.
The volume of products was too tempting for one criminal gang, and they carried out a daring robbery. Bolt cutters removed locks from the cargo containers and vapes were bundled into a waiting van.
Boonnark, a security guard at the warehouse, leapt on his scooter and gave chase to the escaping van.
Tragically, the gang reversed their van into the oncoming guard, killing him at the scene. The authorities acted with alarm and pledged to review and heighten security measures at government storage facilities.
Sadly, the grim event has not given the government pause to consider whether handing over control of tobacco harm reduction to the criminals operating the black market may have had a hand in what transpired.
Meanwhile, following another crackdown operation in Pattaya and Patong, vapes are back on sale and clouds of vapour hang in Thai streets.
Photo Credit:
Photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash, resized and cropped
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
