Reduced in response to growing public concern about the effects of e-cigarettes on younger individuals
PUBLISHED: 25 Feb 2025 at 19: 46
In the wake of a teen smoking crisis and alleged corruption by officials in favor of the illegal business, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered officials to enhance the e-cigarette ban and update the law to toughen penalties.
After the government meeting on Tuesday, state official Jirayu Huangsub said the order came after a briefing on e-cigarette use across the country and its harmful effects on younger people.
The stepped-up answer is also in response to the public’s concern over the case of three Buri Ram teenagers who have experienced severe lung problems brought on by smoking.
The lecture was informed of the sellers ‘ detention and the Sunday sequestration of more than 3, 000 e-cigarettes and related products in Bangkok’s Khannayao and Khok Khram police facilities.
According to Mr. Jirayu, the widespread use of” toy pod” items near schools, and the huge arrest and the negative effects of vaping on young children, showed that authorities were not doing enough to control the items.
The prime minister had previously called for a assault on the buy and price of marijuana, but he claimed the measure had failed and the issue was getting worse.
According to Mr. Jirayu,” the issue has grown to the point where e-cigarettes are being combined with strong narcotics for misuse,” and the minimum age of abusers is 14 years old.
Ms Paetongtarn ordered all companies concerned to further enhance reduction, increase arrests and labor out long-term and effective solutions, the official said.
” The organizations may move more quickly to make rules changes to establish more severe penalties. They have 15 days to deliver the headway to the prime minister, according to Mr. Jirayu.
A group investigating the vaping position in the nation, according to the spokesman, discovered that products are sold in thousands of stores on the streets of major cities and tourist provinces, and that their annual market value is thought to be more than 5 billion baht.
Reduction of e-cigarettes has been limited or non-existent in some regions, where authorities have been ignoring the well-being of younger people, said Mr Jirayu.
He cited the fact that vaping supplies were readily available at stores close to schools, suggesting that some authorities were accepting money to make people look a deaf.