Smoking ban due soon - The Nation - 7th September 2007

 

Smoking will soon be banned in night entertainment venues, once a new Health Ministry regulation takes effect, a seminar in Bangkok was told yesterday. But Dr Seri Hongyok, a deputy head of the Department of Disease Control, said patrons of karaoke bars, pubs, nightclubs and cafes would still be allowed to smoke in designated areas.

 

"Smoking will be barred only in air-conditioned areas or in other public places where non-smokers are." The department would enforce a regulation under which violators would face fines up to Bt20,000.

 

He said there were now 10 countries that impose no-smoking rules in night entertainment venues.

 

Seri said the rule was needed to cope with new marketing strategies employed by tobacco companies to lure more young people to smoke, as there were about 200,000 new smokers every year.

 

A study by the department found the number of woman smokers aged 15-24 had risen to third place on a top-10 ranking of smokers in Thailand, he said.

 

The number of night entertainment venues, meanwhile, has risen to 6,853 last year from 5,249 in 2005.

 

Songsak Watthanaphoon, owner of a popular venue in Chiang Mai, said his premises imposed a ban on smoking three years ago and had won praise from customers with young friends or children. Smoking customers had suffered minimally, he said.

 

The Nation

Having discovered other nearby venues where I can have all the free sex I want with the type of guys I lust after (AND SMOKE AS MUCH AS I WANT TO), I really see no reason to spend my money in a country where I no longer feel welcome nowadays, thanks to recent experiences with the Thai Airways customer service counter at Suvhanabhumi Airport, and now THIS.

What nearby venues?

 

 

Moves for wider ban on smoking

Anti-smoking restrictions for night entertainment venues will come into effect early next year, Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla said yesterday.

The Nation - Published on September 11, 2007

 

 

The ban will be enforced with stricter measures under a new ministerial regulation on other places - including non-air-conditioned areas in markets and restaurants. All areas in state and private hospitals will also become no-smoking zones.

 

Public hearings held by the ministry showed overwhelming support for the ban in night entertainment venues. The new rules will be pushed through in the next three months. The ministry will also launch other measures to reduce the number of smokers in Thailand, who number around 10 million. State assistance had been promised under a new ministry plan, Mongkol said.

 

Among the approved measures is the setting up of a state-run National Quitline - a move uncommon even in developed countries. The toll-free number would be printed on all cigarette packs sold in Thailand.

 

Dr Hathai Chitanont, chairman of the Global Alliance On Cigarette Tariffs, said around a quarter of the 846 billion cigarettes produced each year vanished into black markets and were subsequently sold to smokers at lower prices.