Users of e-cigarettes was also face charges of getting seized goods.
PUBLISHED: 24 Apr 2025 at 11: 23
According to a official, the Thai government will get tougher measures against e-cigarette smoking who may face charges for bringing in seized products.
According to lieutenant government official Anukul Prueksa-anurak, the government has increased the number of e-cigarettes and related products being stopped, bringing on smoking as well as smugglers and distributors.
He claimed that “e-cigarette smoking you face charges if they are the victims of smuggled products.”
The offence is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a great equal to four times the importation’s total price plus any obligation.
E-cigarettes are forbidden in Thailand, but that does not prevent them from being freely available, even in neighborhoods close to schools, which has contributed to a worrying rise in fresh people’s smoking. Adolescents who have recently been hospitalized with heart damage have attracted more attention to the issue.
According to a study conducted by Ramathibodi Hospital, vaping-related illnesses cost the hospital about 306 million baht last year for health care, Mr. Anukul said. The illnesses included strokes, heart attack, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obstructive pulmonary disease.
He said the percentage of vape users among people aged 15-29 years rose from 5.8 % in 2019 to 12.2 % in 2024.
A serious crackdown on e-cigarette sales, especially through online sales channels, was just mandated by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. According to Mr. Anukul, sales and the percentage of e-cigarette people have dropped by more than 80 % in the two decades since the assault first started.