Smokers to face tougher restrictions and fines
Finding a place to light up a cigarette is going to become much more difficult when the Public Health Ministry's tougher anti-smoking regulations take effect in November.
The regulations are going to turn most public areas into no-smoking zones, while attractive descriptions such as "Mild" and "Light" will be removed from cigarette packets and the harmful and carcinogenic components of smoke will be displayed. The regulations will also introduce more pictorial warnings about smoking on the packets. The ban on smoking in most public areas will become effective in November, while other regulations will come into force next February. Caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said he had signed for the amendment to regulations on August 24. However, the regulations will have to be announced in the Royal Gazette for a certain period of time before they can come into force. "If you defy the smoking ban, you face a fine," Pinij added. An offence by a smoker will be punishable by a fine of up to Bt2,000, while the offending property owner will face a fine of up to Bt20,000. Pinij said the regulations were aimed to protect Thais from smoking dangers. According to him, six Thais die of smoking-related diseases every hour, which equates to about 52,000 deaths a year. Smoking-related diseases - heart diseases, lung cancer and bronchitis - cost the country more than Bt50 billion in healthcare services. After the new regulations take effect, most public places will become no-smoking zones. This includes stadiums, bus stops, buses, children's playgrounds, public parks, sport facilities and public telephone booths. Currently, no-smoking areas are mostly restricted to air-conditioned zones. Pinij yesterday said the words "Mild" and "Light" would be removed from cigarette packets because they could mislead buyers into believing that the danger of smoking was not serious. This regulation looks set to seriously affect one cigarette brand, "Mild Seven Light". In 2004, the Council of State said this was a trade name and should be allowed to remain. But the latest move by the Public Health Ministry may remove the immunity. Pinij did not mention the trade name yesterday. However, he added that cigarette packets would be required to display the harmful and carcinogenic cigarette-smoke components such as tar, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. He said pictorial warnings on packets would also have more designs. All warnings will feature the adverse effects of smoking.
Duangkamon Sajirawattanakul The Nation
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