PUBLISHED: 22 Mar 2025 at 04: 00
In a recent crackdown, the Customs Department, the Department of Special Investigation ( DSI), and the Royal Thai Police (RTP ) confiscated more than 64, 000 vaping products worth a whopping$ 12 million.
Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department, told the media that the goods were seized on Thursday during an inspection of eight unused shipping containers at Laem Chabang harbor in Chon Buri.
As part of continuing investigations into trafficking, especially of prohibited products like vaping products, 64, 397 e-cigarette items, both disposable and reusable, were seized.
Following an eight-month research into online smoke networks linked to over 100 stores nationwide, some 260, 000 e-cigarette products for 130 million baht, thought to be the government’s largest always pull, were found at a warehouse in Nonthaburi’s Bang Bua Thong area earlier this week.
After the state set a one-month date for a crackdown on smoking products, particularly those sold close to or near schools, authorities have intensified efforts to stop the movement of the drug.
However, the House of Representatives discussed a report from a unique commission that looked into regulations and laws governing smoking and its effects yesterday before presenting it to the government.
Dr. Thossaporn Sereerak, a Pheu Thai MP for Phrae and the head of the House committee on public health, expressed concern over proposed regulations for smoking and questioned whether this was a step toward legalization.
He criticized those who suggested legalizing smoking products to raise taxes, arguing that the tax revenue would not be more than the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses for the consumer.
The Pheu Thai MP claimed that the best course of action in regards to smoking is to completely abide by the law and maintain it illegal. Udon Thani Thirachai Saengkaew, the political party’s representative in Phuket, criticized an attempt to promote e-cigarettes as a substitute for smoking and emphasized the need to stop the spread of these items, especially among teens.
A ban on all e-cigarette items was supported by Dr. Wannarat Charnnukul, a part of the unique House committee, who shared these issues.
Both criticism and government MPs pleaded with the government to carry on the ban and enhance the crackdown.