Tobacco giant criticises new tax; border controls tightened to prevent smuggling

[StefanBBK]

3 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Is that like vaping which the grand poobahs are trying to outlaw ?  This country's leadership makes no sense at all.  Vaping will become even more popular in Thailand. 

Google IQOS. That is PMTC's non combustion cigarette. very popular now in Europe and Japan. In Thailand not officially available, but can order over facebook for twice the cost in Europe....

[sammieuk1]

Has the penalty risen for owning a ecig from 10-15 years jail in line? .

[yellowboat]

39 minutes ago, StefanBBK said:

Google IQOS. That is PMTC's non combustion cigarette. very popular now in Europe and Japan. In Thailand not officially available, but can order over facebook for twice the cost in Europe....

Yeah, not officially, was smoking a cigar at a nice neighborhood bar on Soi Ekkemai .  This young Japanese guy came up to me and said I should try vaping.  He said you can buy the machines and fluid all over Bangkok.  It seemed like every person on Thonglor was vaping. 

[PAIBKK]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

AUTHORITIES tightened border controls

If they did this about a month ago, they might have a trail leading to YL...
Border controls in Thailand: "Customs are only there to squeeze out money of passers by for filling their own pockets.

[webfact]

Thailand’s new booze and smoke tax increase not as bad as feared

By Coconuts Bangkok

 

 

New tax laws on alcohol, cigarettes, and sugary drinks came into effect over the weekend. There was much panic in the city since the government made no announcements about how much the rate was going to increase. Some Thai news stations predicted astronomical new rates that led to hoarding by individuals, shop, and bar owners.

 

However, the panic was unfounded as the increased rates are not terribly high for the products purchased by most people.

 

The new prices for sodas and soft drinks will be just 13-50 satang more per unit and 32-90 satang higher for energetic drinks.

 

Full story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thailands-new-booze-smoke-tax-increase-not-bad-feared/

 

-- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-09-18

[HHTel]

Just bought 100 packs of cigarettes at 40 baht. From......... the army!  Not sure if they are affected by tightened border controls.  I think not.

[realenglish1]

I kicked smoking more than 15 years ago At the time in Canada they where more than 10 dollars a pack That was one reason I kicked the habbit The other was for health reasons

 

So anyone who bellyaches about the taxes on cigarettes is misguided and feeding their habit 

 

Dont like the tax then simply quite  Have more money in your pocket to boot 

 

 

[Si Thea01]

So much for the free trade agreement with Australia.  Just tax the crap out of whatever is imported, whilst the poor stupid Aussies don't reciprocate.  No wonder some countries are screwing others in the west.

[jinners]

2 hours ago, StefanBBK said:

Google IQOS. That is PMTC's non combustion cigarette. very popular now in Europe and Japan. In Thailand not officially available, but can order over facebook for twice the cost in Europe....

Trying to outlaw? I know someone just got stung with a 20k fine for holding one. Cop wanted 30k, madness

[eliotness]

My local shop has increased prices way over those stated. The locals are boycotting it as the next shop 1 km away is still selling at the old price.

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, eliotness said:

My local shop has increased prices way over those stated. The locals are boycotting it as the next shop 1 km away is still selling at the old price.

The guy who owns the large local shop around here told us today that there will be no price increase on LM and Marlboro cigarettes.

 

I'm now wondering if this was already priced in during the previous '5 Baht a packet price increase' when the price inexplicably jumped from 95 to 125 Baht per packet.

 

[Lancelot01]

From what I recall, although the amount of the tax increases was large, the full amount would be introduced slowly over the next 10 or 15 years.

[sitanonchai]

And the killing of the tourist arrivals keeps going on, including us. We ( 3 pax)  used to visit Thailand twice a year for a month.

Our last holiday we spent in Tenerife, Spain. Beer 0.4 ltr 1 euro, food very cheap, for instance Chinese buffet 6.50 Euro , big club sandwich 2.90 Euro. 

 

Big English breakfast 3 euro, incl. 2 eggs of choice , coffee twice,  Orange juice, 2 slices of bread, beans, jam & butter, bacon, tomato and black pudding.

 

Hardly any people selling goods when your out drinking or dining. Clean beach, safe traffic etc. 

 

Bye bye Thailand.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by sitanonchai
forgot breakfast

[lvr181]

42 minutes ago, ukrules said:

The guy who owns the large local shop around here told us today that there will be no price increase on LM and Marlboro cigarettes.

 

I'm now wondering if this was already priced in during the previous '5 Baht a packet price increase' when the price inexplicably jumped from 95 to 125 Baht per packet.

 

Does 'The guy who owns the large local shop...' understand what's happening re the increased taxes?  His understanding seems rather strange.

[HHTel]

Some retailers will decide to absorb the tax increase as some bars and restaurants will also.  But there are others that will use it as an excuse to increase their profit margin.

[ukrules]

20 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Does 'The guy who owns the large local shop...' understand what's happening re the increased taxes?  His understanding seems rather strange.

I don't know, it seems a bit strange to me. He buys his goods directly from official distributers, not middle men and he appears to have been updated today. This guy is no dumbass either, he didn't raise his prices on existing stock, he just waited to see how it turns out.

 

He also said that the price of those 4 and 5 Liter boxes of fruit wine won't increase by very much, if at all, something about price per liter being so low and that it's not foreign alcohol.

 

Cheap Thai cigarettes on the other hand are going to be hit by the new tax.

 

This is the same guy who told me his suppliers took a few days off since about Friday, they told their staff to go on holiday, spend time at the beach and refused to fill any orders - he was a bit frustrated by this.

 

I guess things will be clearer later this week.

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by ukrules

[BEVUP]

7 hours ago, BEVUP said:

I think things will probably start  today or they might be worried about selling old stock

My local shop 50 mtrs away hasn't put up yet but one of her Relo's charged the new price & came over to house & gave me the money back

= Krong Thip smokes 86 bht = New price 93 bht

 

Aparently she was only making 1 bht per pk 

She just showed me her phone with the suppliers price 85 & new price shall be (acording to her phone ) 96 bht - the full 10 bht increase for smokes above  bht

[Media1]

The army generals failed as saviours of any improved economy and now turn to what most Thai do when there in trouble.

[natway09]

sitanochi,,, we did not like your belly aching anyway .... Bye

[tryasimight]

1 hour ago, sitanonchai said:

And the killing of the tourist arrivals keeps going on, including us. We ( 3 pax)  used to visit Thailand twice a year for a month.

Our last holiday we spent in Tenerife, Spain. Beer 0.4 ltr 1 euro, food very cheap, for instance Chinese buffet 6.50 Euro , big club sandwich 2.90 Euro. 

 

Big English breakfast 3 euro, incl. 2 eggs of choice , coffee twice,  Orange juice, 2 slices of bread, beans, jam & butter, bacon, tomato and black pudding.

 

Hardly any people selling goods when your out drinking or dining. Clean beach, safe traffic etc. 

 

Bye bye Thailand.

 

 

Is it safe to assume that this will be your last post on this forum? Or will you become one of the knockers of all things Thai who doesn't either live or visit the Kingdom.

 

There must be a Spanish site you can post on..........

[MaxYakov]

12 hours ago, davehowden said:

" PMTL wanted to move towards a smoke-free future "

 

Strange statement for a tobacco company to make ??

Improper, incomplete quotation from the article without any indication that it is not the complete sentence, below:

 

"PMTL wanted to move towards a smoke-free future and supported a tax policy based on the principle of tobacco harm-reduction that encourages smokers to switch from cigarettes to less harmful alternatives, such as noncombustible tobacco products, he said."

 

And you're getting likes and smileys for this? Says a lot about your posting and some of the readers here, eh? Maybe big tobacco is tired of big payout lung cancer lawsuits from tobacco addicts and/or their families.

 

A "smoke-free" future would be a good idea considering how horrible the cheap cigarettes they sell these days smell (and even some of the expensive ones).

Edited September 18, 2017 by MaxYakov

[Dumbastheycome]

In  spite  of  the  doom and  gloom advocates   who attempt  to  persist  the  drama  is   just  that ! On a  temporary  basis  there  will  be  those  that try  to  extort on  disinformation used as   fact.

Eventually   a  moderate  increase   will  be  applied  more  rationally  to  general  retail.

But  may take  longer  for the   suckers  who habitually  buy  in  Bars.

[ThaidaGwaii]

12 hours ago, eliotness said:

The joke is that the biggest retailer of duty free booze and fags in my part of Isaan is the wife of an immigration officer based on the border.  So I guess her trade will be increasing.

What's your phone number in Nong Khai?  I'm interested!

[HHTel]

4 hours ago, MaxYakov said:

Maybe big tobacco is tired of big payout lung cancer lawsuits from tobacco addicts and/or their families.

With all the lawsuits over the years, especially in the US, not one baht/cent/penny has ever been paid out!

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

15 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

It wasn't mentioned because it's illegal without a license, and there is practically no chance at all of getting a license.

You could brew for your own consumption, just not to sell.

Or tell me something new...

 

 

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

8 hours ago, sitanonchai said:

And the killing of the tourist arrivals keeps going on, including us. We ( 3 pax)  used to visit Thailand twice a year for a month.

Our last holiday we spent in Tenerife, Spain. Beer 0.4 ltr 1 euro, food very cheap, for instance Chinese buffet 6.50 Euro , big club sandwich 2.90 Euro. 

 

Big English breakfast 3 euro, incl. 2 eggs of choice , coffee twice,  Orange juice, 2 slices of bread, beans, jam & butter, bacon, tomato and black pudding.

 

Hardly any people selling goods when your out drinking or dining. Clean beach, safe traffic etc. 

 

Bye bye Thailand.

 

 

Spain, Greece, Italy and most southern EU states are bankrupt and have huge unemployment.

Even the drop in the value of the pound still makes for a cheap holiday as you say.

Thailand is pricing itself out of the holiday market slowly...

 

Emoticon of man shooting himself in the foot...

[blackcab]

2 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

You could brew for your own consumption, just not to sell.

Or tell me something new...

 

Brewing or distilling alcohol without a license is illegal. It doesn't matter where you brew it. It doesn't matter who drinks it. It doesn't even need to be consumed.

 

No license = illegal. Just to make matters worse, there is an almost zero chance of getting a license for home brewing.

[MaxYakov]

3 hours ago, HHTel said:

With all the lawsuits over the years, especially in the US, not one baht/cent/penny has ever been paid out!

Even if that were true, I doubt the lost sales and trials' defense lawyers were free, although the unintended advertising may have been beneficial to sales.

 

PS: If one edits a post, even by removing as few as one word, I prefer that the editing be somehow indicated. In this case a simple "< snipped  BS verbiage >" would have been adequate.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

11 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

Brewing or distilling alcohol without a license is illegal. It doesn't matter where you brew it. It doesn't matter who drinks it. It doesn't even need to be consumed.

 

No license = illegal. Just to make matters worse, there is an almost zero chance of getting a license for home brewing.

Sorry to question you further, but where did you get that information?

I've seen stuff in the press and elsewhere that suggests something like that but is all about people trying to make enough "Craft " beer to retail it.

Since you have been here a while you will know laws seem to get made up to suit whoever is enforcing it. I'm interested as I know people that do it and thought I might having done it in the UK years ago.

If you need a licence to make beer for your own consumption how much is it?

Cheers.

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by George FmplesdaCosteedback

[Kim1950]

Prevent Smuggling just how does that work with ozone layers of holes at the borders. And, no doubt, a crew of Border Immigration peoplewho need income supplements and tiers of others to get a cut. How's this different than the US Prohibition Era or today's very simple tax for bureaucrats.