"e-cigarette"

Monday’s meeting of the National Tobacco Products Control Committee upheld Thailand’s ban on the import and sale of e-cigarettes (vapes), according to Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Kiattiphum Wongrajit.

Amid rising public pressure for e-cigarettes to be legalised, the Department of Disease Control on Tuesday issued a nine-point handout on why Thailand must maintain the ban on their import and sale. Thai authorities must consider the full impact of legalising the sale of e-cigarettes, whatever their health impacts compared with regular cigarettes, said Department chief Dr Opas Karnkawinpong.

The government’s plan to legalise electronic cigarettes has been slammed by a medical alliance, which points out that cigarettes of any sort are major contributors to non-communicable diseases (NCD).

E-cigarettes have been blamed for breathing problems in a 48-year-old male patient admitted to a private hospital, Dr Asadang Ruaycharin, deputy director-general and a spokesman for the Department of Disease Control, said yesterday (December 7).

A 16-year-old girl from Central Visayas is the country’s first known victim of lung injury caused by electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), or vaping, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.

Officials raided a night market in Bangkok on Wednesday night and arrested four vendors for allegedly selling e-cigarettes or vaporizers and e-liquids.

Police and consumer protection officials arrested four suspects for allegedly selling e-cigarette pipes and chemicals and baraku smoking pipes at a night market in Nonthaburi’s Muang district late on Friday.

The decision has been met with criticism and charges of favouritism.

Leading cigarette importer Philip Morris Trading (Thailand) is calling on the new government and policymakers to start talking with the tobacco industry, so both sides can work on finding constructive solutions to reduce harm caused by smoking.

The United Arab Emirates Embassy in Bangkok has issued a warning to UAE nationals against smoking electronic cigarettes in Thailand.

A NETWORK of e-cigarette users has called on the authorities to quickly come up with appropriate solutions to regulate e-cigarettes in order to protect the country’s image among foreign tourists.

A REVIEW of the ban on e-cigarettes is being launched in light of difficulties in enforcing the law.