Health Minister is not in a rush to respond to a suggestion made by Thailand’s terminals
PUBLISHED: 14 Feb 2025 at 18: 44
Airports of Thailand Plc ( AoT )’s ) attempt to reinstall smoking areas at international airports is a slog, as Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin has sounded the alarm without a delay.
A working party is still conducting research, according to the minister’s statement on Thursday, regarding the effects of tobacco areas inside international flights.
He claimed that there was no date for the panelists to finish their examination in a message posted a week prior on his Facebook page.
” This problem needs to be effectively addressed before it can be resolved”, he said. The ( National Tobacco Control ) Committee will receive the study’s proposal when it advances, without giving a deadline for the task.
He also suggested that it might be possible to double the charges for inconsiderate cigarettes. Offenders who smoke outside in all public places, including airport houses, may be fined up to 5, 000 baht.
The National Tobacco Control Committee, which decides the problem, is a vital part of Mr. Somsak’s position because he is also the public health minister’s primary representative.
The aircraft operator and anti-smoking politicians are debating whether to reinstate smoking rooms inside AoT’s six airport terminals. In order to amend the rules governing smoking in public places, the commission must approve that.
AoT runs Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Hat Yai, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai terminals.
Since 2019, all airports in Thailand have banned smoking in designated areas of buildings. This is done in accordance with a stringent law designed to stop smoking. Outside the houses, there are no designated smoking areas.
Next year, AoT made a decision to change that. It cited issues from travellers who were eager for a breath but had no place to light up and had long prepares for connecting flights.
Additionally, it supported its claim that smoking was occurring in restrooms and other locations, and that some passengers were perhaps willing to pay fines to break their behavior.
Kirati Kijmanawat, the president of AoT, yet issued a warning about potential fires caused by improper smoking inside airports. He also pointed out that some local competitors offer smoking areas to breath in their terminals. They include Changi in Singapore, Incheon in South Korea, and Narita and Haneda in Japan.
Action on Smoking and Health Foundation Thailand, a campaign team, has responded with a longer list of absolutely smoking-free airports, including ChicagoO’Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, both of which are in the US and are among the busiest airports in the world.
The anti-smoking politicians argued against the AoT force, arguing that protecting the health of passengers and airport dwellers was essential. They supported their location with a declaration from the UN Human Rights Council, of which Thailand is currently a member.
The UN human rights organization has declared admittance to a” fresh, healthy and sustainable atmosphere” a human right.
” Airport smoking areas have been closed for six years. There is no reason to go back to recover them”, it said on Saturday.
According to Mr. Somsak, a detailed investigation was necessary and needed to take into account both the advantages of the hospitality industry and the public health.