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Most parents of students agree the new government should maintain the current ban on the import and sale of e-cigarettes, citing the potential health risk, according to the Research Centre for Social and Business Development (SAB). Suriyan Boontae, deputy director of the SAB, said 91% of the 5,582 respondents nationwide supported a continuation of the ban, saying it would limit young people's exposure to smoking. The survey was conducted among 4,087 parents of students from upper primary to high schools. The other respondents were teachers and school administrators.

Thailand’s general elections on May 14 might just bring about the end of the country’s draconian vape policies. Merely possessing a nicotine vape can currently get your item confiscated, land you with a big fine or even send you to prison for up to five years. Severe penalties and corrupt enforcement have seen Thailand branded the world’s worst country to be a person who vapes. But Thai tobacco harm reduction activists are hopeful that things will soon change.

The recent news of police extorting tourists for possessing e-cigarettes raises the question of whether it's time or not to legalise these electronic devices. But it's an issue that goes beyond limiting the income stream of crooked cops.

While cigarettes, with their detrimental impacts on health, are legal, e-cigarettes have been banned since 2017. Despite the ban, about 80,000 e-cigarette users in the kingdom are violating the law. More than half of this number is in the 15–24 age group.

A domestic tobacco control network has voiced concern about young children smoking e-cigarettes.

A member of the national tobacco product control board said there has been a spike in the number of teenagers who vape.

According to a survey on Thai people's health conducted in 2019 and 2020, 5.3% of children aged 10 to 19 years have tried vaping, and 2.9% do so regularly. Around 30% of people in this age bracket who smoke e-cigarettes are women, the study showed.

Despite Thailand's ban on e-cigarettes, they are easily available online. Worse, consumers are subject to heavy lobbying from the vaping industry, which spreads disinformation in its bid to end the ban. The government must put a stop to this dirty business. The ban on e-cigarettes has been in effect since 2014. The Public Health Ministry says the vapour from e-cigarettes contains nicotine, which is highly addictive and harmful to health. The ban also applies to refills and other vaping equipment with punishment to both vendors and vapers if the law is enforced.

The director of a pro-e-cigarette group in Thailand believes legalizing the activity would not only lead to more control over vaping amongst the kingdom’s youth but make it safer than the dreaded cancer stick.

A survey conducted by the National Statistical Office of Thailand last year found more than half of the kingdom’s 80,000 e-cigarette smokers were people aged between 15 to 24. With that survey in mind, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier this month stressed the need to continue banning e-cigarette imports to protect the nation’s teenagers from vaping health risks.

The government has affirmed its stance against vaping, saying e-cigarettes are affecting the health of vapers of whom more than half are considered youths. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stressed the need to continue banning e-cigarette imports to protect youths from vaping health risks when he spoke at a national conference on cigarettes and public health held in Bangkok on Monday. A survey conducted by the National Statistical Office of Thailand last year found more than half of the about 80,000 e-cigarette smokers in Thailand were people aged 15 to 24.

The National Tobacco Products Control Committee has resolved to ban sales of electronic cigarette products containing cannabis extracts, along with traditional cigarettes and cigars containing cannabis.

The meeting was chaired by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Following the decision, a new guideline will be introduced in the form of ministerial regulations, while rules for e-cigarettes fall under the responsibility of the police and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

Marijuana and hemp were removed from the list of banned narcotics on June 9.

Meanwhile, the order signed by Interior Ministry’s permanent-secretary Suttipong Juljarern on June 30 lists the following guidelines for governors to follow:

• Marijuana and hemp cannot be used for recreation

• Sale or consumption of cannabis/hemp spiked food or beverages is not allowed in government complexes. • Government officials cannot consume marijuana or hemp illegally or in a manner that can affect the image of state officials.

Southeast Asia, a region of 11 countries and some 680 million people, has long been infamous for having the strictest anti-drug laws in the world. But in a sign that regional leaders are mulling a new approach, Thailand became the first country in Asia last week to decriminalize marijuana for medical and other purposes. Smoking weed for fun is still illegal, Thai’s health minister clarified to CNN, but he expects legal cannabis production to boost the economy. Over 3,000 inmates incarcerated in Thai prisons for marijuana-related offenses were also freed.