Smoke on Thai beaches this high season and face jail or 100,000 baht fine

[oldies1]

5 hours ago, Mickmouse1 said:

How about going into the water n smoke there??

Indeed, that's the first thing that entered my mind when I read the article

[bstafford214]

I don't understand this country at all, gave up a long time ago.  Someone could assault and injure an individual,  or some other violent act and get only a 500 baht fine or wai it and pay nothing.

 

But heaven forbid that you smoke or throw a cig on the ground and possibly go to jail and 100,000 baht fine, I just don't get it.

[joecoolfrog]

6 hours ago, Furryman said:

Awesome idea. Gotta start somewhere with the trash problem and cigarette butts are disgusting. Great place to start.

Yeh Awesome , harass Farang smokers and ignore the Thais littering , what could be more logical !

[howbri]

It's not just the lack of enforcement, it's the culture. I've lived in China and now Thailand and it's the same. Trash everywhere and the locals aren't concerned. It's part of life. In China I've seen people standing next to a trash bin (a rarity in Thailand) drop trash on the ground beside it. Where I come from there are trash receptacles everywhere. In Thailand, you have to hunt for them or bring it home.

[petedk]

2 minutes ago, howbri said:

It's not just the lack of enforcement, it's the culture. I've lived in China and now Thailand and it's the same. Trash everywhere and the locals aren't concerned. It's part of life. In China I've seen people standing next to a trash bin (a rarity in Thailand) drop trash on the ground beside it. Where I come from there are trash receptacles everywhere. In Thailand, you have to hunt for them or bring it home.

In the latest bulletin  from Phuket News, they say that trash bins will be set up just before you enter the beach and that special designated smoking areas will be set up.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2017 by petedk

[Monkeyrobot]

6 hours ago, Chrisdoc said:

I saw a Thai person dispose of a cigarette butt properly - once.

Sent from my SM-J120G using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Don’t tease us, that’s not fair. 

[DM07]

What- The- Actual- #$%@ ?!

[Kieran00001]

14 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

Mr and Mrs Tourist an easy target so money in the bank, but Mr and Mrs Tourist will no longer becoming as no food and drinks or umbrella's on certain days and now smokes and vapor . No wonder Britians tourism is up to 40 Million in 2017, only idiots do local these days.

 

 Last year there were 32 million visitors to Thailand, up 10% on the previous year, while the UK saw 37 million visitors last year, up 7% on the previous year.  Your comment makes no sense when Thai tourism is increasing at a greater rate than the UK's.

[joecoolfrog]

5 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

Excellent! Foreign smokers who reject this sensible regulation can stay in their own country to smoke cigarettes on their own beaches (if it is not rightly banned there also) polluting the sea with filthy ash and wastes, and foisting their passive smoke and odour on their own people.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the 10 seconds of pleasure you got for penning that little anti smoking rant. Shame this measure will accomplish absolutely nothing other than to line the pockets of a few policeman and antagonise tourists who for the most part will have no idea why they are being fleeced.

[smedly]

1 hour ago, wealthychef said:

Non sequitor beyond belief.  Your argument seems to be, "I want to smoke on the beach, and why aren't you talking about plastic bags instead?"  Cigarette butts are indeed a danger to sea life.  Just because they don't have the bag thing handled yet (but they are working on it to their credit) doesn't mean this is "stupidity beyond belief" to address another valid concern.  

the issue is not smoking on the beach it is what people do with their trash (including cigarette butts) when they are done, as it stands there are a lot of people both foreign and Thai that leave litter everywhere, it would be my guess that most of the litter that ends up on Thai beaches did not originate there but was carried by drains from the city to the sea and gets washed up there

 

stopping people smoking on the beach solves nothing 

[Thailand]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

oh dear, how about a general clamp down on all types of littering, if I smoke anywhere I use an ashtray or a bin and that includes on a beach, if I have litter it goes in a bin, I am all for cleaning up and stopping people littering but stopping people smoking on a beach adds absolutely nothing to this, how many April 1st's are there in Thailand, they seem to have one every week.

 

This is stupidity beyond belief

You do know where you are and who is in charge?  

[Kevbo]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I went 'Cold Turkey' three and a half weeks ago, and it has been three and a half weeks of HELL!

 

But, I have done it.

 

Make it 200,000 Baht!

 

Yours smugly...

 

 

Well done my friend keep it up, cold turkey is the only way. Chewing gum can be your best friend for a while because you will be tempted to snack, but you can lose those extra pounds slowly unlike the evil nicotine ...

[murraynz]

i am a non smoker-- but this ruling is insane---they could start by regulating that deckchair operators supply ashtrays-

then supply more rubbish bins along the beach.--next, educate thai people about putting rubbish etc in bins {im sure,they are the worst offendors..

 

 

 

 

[TheMacMan]

there are a lot of anti-smoking fans-boys on here.... I get it... i do.... you don't like smoking...!!!

BUT

BUT 

(no cigarette butt joke intended).....

 

The point that should be made is simple..... smokers should be able to smoke in open air-places..... a beach or by the sea.... but have to clear up after themselves!  

Just like Thais should take their plastic and polystyrene rubbish away with them and not throw it on the beach.

 

In a country of litter-dumpers where overly aggressive fights and stabbings result in an apology and a 500bht fine, to impose 100,000 bht fine or a year in jail for just smoking is SHEER STUPIDITY.

Enforce fines for littering, stabbing and fighting, make fines for dropping cigarette butts in public places, sure!.... but such a HUGE punishment for just smoking on the beach in an open area is just stupid.

 

Soon there will be  fine for being farang in public because as sure as you can be, this will NOT apply to the Thais...!

Therefore it is unjust and self destructive for the thai economy.

 

(I just wish non-smokers would look at that logic and NOT the subject of smoking - the repetitive anti-smoking blinkers are getting boring now!)

[Lupatria]

7 hours ago, djayz said:

It's ok to bring tons of plastic bags, bottles, cuttlery, etc. with you to the beach and just leave it all there after you've finished your pic-nic. That doesn't cause any environmental damage at all and it makes the beaches look more "suwai". 

 

They never seem to get anything right here...

Edited October 10, 2017 by Lupatria

[ukrules]

I'm waiting for them to bring in a new public modesty law which requires everyone to wear full business attire whilst on the beach.

 

Don't rule it out.

 

I suspect most of the crap on the beaches washes in from the sea after it's dumped from trucks out of site elsewhere.

[SGD]

Average wage in Thailand is how much, perhaps 100,000 baht a year ?

 

So Somchai smokes on the beach and gets fined a whole year's salary ?

 

Translate to the UK and you get fined £25,000 ?

 

This is not more an attempt to reduce environmental damage as is the huge fines on people bringing in excess tobacco into the country. Both are set so disproportionately high so as to allow extortion by the police and immigration.

[webfact]

No ifs, no butts – beach smoking is banned

 

 

The Marine and Coastal Resources Department plans to ban smoking on beaches around the country next month after thousands of cigarette butts were found in the sand.

In a pioneer project, the department is to invoke a coastal resources management law on to issue the smoking ban on 20 popular beaches early next month, said department chief Jatuporn Buruphat.

 

Jatuporn said he had consulted with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Gen Surasak Kanchanarat and the minister agreed with the proposal.

 

Since the ban will be based on marine park law, offenders will be subject to huge maximum penalties of one year in jail or Bt100,000 fine.

 

Jatuporn said the ban had been discussed with provincial governors and local administrations.

 

The 20 beaches involved include Mae Pim, Laem Sing, Bang Saen, Cha-am, Khao Takiab, Bo Phut, Haad Sai Ree, Patong, Pattaya, Jomthien, Koh Khai Nok and Koh Khai Nai.

 

Jatuporn said he decided to take action after the Andaman Coastal Resources Research and Development Centre found in a recent survey that there were anything from 63,000 to 138,000 cigarette butts on a 2.5-kilometre stretch of Patong Beach.

 

The figure was estimate based on a sampling survey of a 9-square-metre area to a depth of 10 centimetres. The survey found an average of 0.76 cigarette butt per square metre of sand.

 

“We won’t totally ban smoking but we will set aside smoking area for smokers before they reach the beach. They can drop their cigarette butts there but they will not be allowed to stroll on the beach while smoking,” Jatuporn said.

 

“Doing that allows for a high possibility cigarette butf being dropped into the sand.”

 

Jatuporn added that his department would soon expand the ban to cover every beach in the country.

He said the department would also consider a smoking ban on passenger and tourist boats to tackle the issue of cigarette butts dropped into the sea.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30328928

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-10-10

[joecoolfrog]

5 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Yeah, because you have the God given right to pollute, right?

No , only Thai smokers will have that gift !

[DuiDui48]

Try same with PLASTIC BAGS...

[smedly]

1 hour ago, slippery snake said:

Really ? you use an ash tray while smoking on the beach ? and I guess you've never stamped out a butt on the footpath ?Wow,  amazing,  as you must be the only one that does. I see countless smokers just push their cigarette butts into the sand and leave them there..  In fact I have never seen any smoker anywhere take their butts away with them, ever.. 

And if you walked along the beach you would see that too.

As for litter I agree, but they do clean up the beach each day at Patong for litter,  but don't pick up cigarette butts... 

actually yes I do use an ashtray and if not available I will use an empty can that I have just consumed when arriving there or an empty cup ............. and yes I do this every time I go to a beach, and when I'm done I leave nothing behind - it all goes in the trash.....go figure

[cookieqw]

lead and cadmium seem to be " flavour " of the month

[joecoolfrog]

4 hours ago, tropo said:

Should they give up on cigarette butts because there are other problems to consider? Cleaning up plastic bags is a lot easier than cleaning up cigarette butts, which become integrated with the sand. If you send a person along a beach to clean up litter they won't be looking for cigarette butts. They need a sand-sifting tractor to remove cigarette butts.

Fair enough except you know and I know that the majority of offenders will be Thai yet they will NOT be targeted .

[wakeupplease]

15 minutes ago, cookieqw said:

lead and cadmium seem to be " flavour " of the month

No try this

 

BullS>>T and Story telling is far more common.

[terryofcrete]

What about eCigs . They do not pollute and they are a lot healthier than tobacco cigarettes with or without butts ! ... oh ... I forgot that they are already banned everywhere because the Government would lose revenue if sales of Tobacco went down. Except that tobacco smoking costs the government a fortune in health related issues but that... well it’s a bit complicated to understand... isn’t it.

[Jimbo53]

5 hours ago, twizzian said:

Another backward thinking solution to a backward stepping country.

Will never be clean here, shame really that it’s marred by ignorance & lack of education.

I also hate family members & builders that throw all their fag butts & the most grotesque coughing up & spitting all over our garden and lawn.

 

[sambum]

43 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

 Last year there were 32 million visitors to Thailand, up 10% on the previous year, while the UK saw 37 million visitors last year, up 7% on the previous year.  Your comment makes no sense when Thai tourism is increasing at a greater rate than the UK's.

Official TAT figures?  

[joecoolfrog]

3 hours ago, PumpkinEater said:

I agree with this law.

I have been exposed to smoke in confined places early in my work career, and now like to enjoy clean freash air as a basic human right.

 

If smokers would have the situational awarness to know the direction of their smoke and intrusion of their cigarette butt waste to others it would help...but recently on a holiday while on the ferry to Koh Samui, I was enjoying the nice fresh air on deck, then a few smokers decided to lite up UPWIND of me and other passengers. I did not appreciate smelling their pollution vs. the fresh sea air! When they finished their smoke their butts went into the ocean! If they had some brains they would stand at the back of the boat smoking. One example...

 

As stated earlier fresh air and water are basic human rights!

I hope you steered clear of the enormous pile of trash that is disfiguring central Koh Samui

[Naam]

31 minutes ago, webfact said:

The figure was estimate based on a sampling survey of a 9-square-metre area to a depth of 10 centimetres. The survey found an average of 0.76 cigarette butt per square metre of sand.

an impressing representative study!

[harleyclarkey]

Wonderful Thailand...yet again! This is clearly a law against tourists. as Thais will never go to a beach to lie in the sun. 

 

So, a foreigner who smokes a ciggie on an open beach will face "Years in (a filthy inhumane ) Thai jail or a 100,00 baht fine".

 

But beat a person to near death, set a child on fire, steal a huge sum from a foreigner and hey presto. A Wai and a small fine and you are free to go. 

 

What a crazy mixed up country Thailand is.