Phuket beach inspection leads to smoking ban at 20 beaches nationwide

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Phuket beach inspection leads to smoking ban at 20 beaches nationwide

The Phuket News

 

Officials from the DMCR seen here during their recent inspection of Patong Beach. Photo: DMCR

 

PHUKET: Starting next month, officials will be posted at 20 beaches around the nation, including the island’s Patong Beach, to ensure that beachgoers do not smoke on the sands, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Mr Jatuporn Buruspat announced to local news media yesterday (Oct 9).

 

The announcement on the smoking ban comes after an inspection conducted on nine square metres by 10 centimetres depth of Patong Beach yielded an average of 0.76 cigarette ends per sqm.

 

This estimates to an approximate 101,058 cigarette ends along the 2.5 kilometre stretch of Patong Beach.

 

Full story:  https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-beach-inspection-leads-to-smoking-ban-at-20-beaches-nationwide-64254.php#yv8HrTmMUXSJeuKl.97

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-10-10

[LivinginKata]

Best of luck enforcing that ban ...

[HerbalEd]

Have you ever stepped barefoot on a lit cigarette butt on the beach? It's extremely painful. And don't you just love smokers who think it's OK for them to throw their butts on the street, beach, earth, etc.?

 

I think anyone who wants to smoke should be allowed to do it. But after many decades of experiencing rude, selfish, lazy smokers knowingly polluting my personal air space  with their smoke, and trashing the world with their butts, I have very little sympathy for them.

Edited October 10, 2017 by HerbalEd

[mark01]

Some bad publicity about the garbage and filth on Thailand's beaches and the Thai solution? Ban smoking!

 

[schlog]

Saw them performing their test some days ago at the south end of patong beach at the beach wall where only jet ski and taxi guys hang around.

 

Is this conclusion then also correct?

 

An inspection conducted on nine square metres by 10 centimetres depth of Patong Beach yielded an average of 2 thugs per sqm.

So in total more then 1 million thugs on Phuket?

[phantomfiddler]

I do think that 100,000 Bht fine or 1 year in jail is a rather steep outcome for such a crime though ! In addition we all know that the only persons charged will be farangs on holiday, a great way to attract tourists

[InMyShadow]

Best of luck enforcing that ban ...

Lol it will be enforced.. But not for thais

[DrDave]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

Best of luck enforcing that ban ...

Right!

It'll probably be enforced with the same rigor as other banned activities on Patong Beach, including parking on the footpath, riding motorbikes on the footpath, fireworks and hot air kites. All are officially banned, but there's zero enforcement.

[madmitch]

There's a long thread on this in the news forum and I think every other type of comment has already been made there but this is the first time I have seen ships mentioned.

 

So cruise ships are going to have to impose a smoking ban as they enter Thai waters? Sure.

 

And passenger boats will also have a no smoking ban? Does this include the Thai crew who, from my experience, usually smoke and discard cigarette ends straight into the sea.

 

And no mention of fishing boats. Maybe fishermen don't smoke!

 

So which will be the first international newspaper to pick up on this story?

[steelepulse]

Could be a good money spinner.  Easier to catch a smoker than a chinese walking on coral or a Russian feeding fish for that 100K reward........er fine.

[RichardColeman]

Just know there will be some smart under cover policeman handing out free cigarettes and a light on the beach somewhere, with his mate just down wind.  Huge money spinner in potential on beach bribes for whoever is trying to enforce this.

[Juan B Tong]

Brilliant!  The government finally figured out how to profit from Chinese zero dollar tourists!

[just bob]

I applaud the DMCR for taking some action on cleaning up the environment.  But the logic is absurd.  Are they going to ban eating on the beach because people leave their picnic trash?  And 100,000 baht fines?  Really?  Who comes up with this shit?

 

The problem is a culture of litterers.  Until the powers that be can engineer some social programming to instill a respect for the environment - along with placing a whole lot more trash cans AND emptying them regularly - no amount of fines, even $3000+ US dollars is going to save this place.

 

Things won't change until litterers are properly scorned socially as the scumbags they are.

 

I smoke.  I like smoking at the beach.  I always pack out my butts, along with usually a half dozen of some other shit-for-brains ass-wipe's butts.

 

Its a start DMCR.  Now go after the agencies allowing sewage to flow to the beaches.

 

[connda]

Oh my goodness!!! Look at all those cigarette butts!  The horror!
 

Cigarette butts everywhere!!! 

Edited October 10, 2017 by connda

[hobobo]

4 hours ago, mark01 said:

Some bad publicity about the garbage and filth on Thailand's beaches and the Thai solution? Ban smoking!

 

Exactly. And I'm sure that on the same 2.5 km of the beach they'd find even more plastic bottles/bags/metal bottle tops etc, which all need about 5,000 years to break down. But the biggest offenders are left alone... Let's just screw the tourist!

[chercheur888]

1 hour ago, connda said:

Oh my goodness!!! Look at all those cigarette butts!  The horror!
 

Cigarette butts everywhere!!! 

Believe it or not, this is what other countries are using. Easy! But then again, TIT

 

[bristolgeoff]

cigarettes butts are the least of the problems on beachs,they is a lot worse pieces of rubbish on the beaches..just imagine you are fined for smoking on the beach but what about all the rubbish on the beach.that is not our problem you were smoking on the beach so you are fined

[4MyEgo]

14 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

I do think that 100,000 Bht fine or 1 year in jail is a rather steep outcome for such a crime though ! In addition we all know that the only persons charged will be farangs on holiday, a great way to attract tourists

I think they should ban the throwing of cigarettes while parasailing, this should assist in the reduction of butts.

 

Don't get me wrong, I detest cigarette smoke, and believe they should have a designated smoking area for all smokers, no fines, make the designates area about 6ft under the water.

[wavemanwww]

While at it in such a small sample area and only the busiest area. Did they also find based on Thailand beaches used by locals and Tourists:

• Missing Gold Necklaces?
• Brown Paper bags
• Turds from the untreated sewerage
• Plastic bags (prior to raking off the debris)
• Dead bodies based on past stories
• Dead fish bones from the contaminated water.
• Bear bottle tops
• and so on

Or was the sand was so pristine it was only the lethal cigarette butts and most made in Thailand?

 

 

[wavemanwww]

While at it in such a small sample area and only the busiest area. Did they also find based on Thailand beaches used by locals and Tourists:

• Missing Gold Necklaces?
• Brown Paper bags
• Turds from the untreated sewerage
• Plastic bags (prior to raking off the debris)
• Dead bodies based on past stories
• Dead fish bones from the contaminated water.
• Bear bottle tops
• and so on

Or was the sand was so pristine it was only the lethal cigarette butts and most made in Thailand?

 

 

[robsamui]

7 hours ago, wavemanwww said:

While at it in such a small sample area and only the busiest area. Did they also find based on Thailand beaches used by locals and Tourists:

• Missing Gold Necklaces?
• Brown Paper bags
• Turds from the untreated sewerage
• Plastic bags (prior to raking off the debris)
• Dead bodies based on past stories
• Dead fish bones from the contaminated water.
• Bear bottle tops
• and so on

Or was the sand was so pristine it was only the lethal cigarette butts and most made in Thailand?

 

 

What's a bear bottle?

[beechbum]

Crazy stuff but given that I cant stand smoking or the pricks that drop their butts on the ground I have no problem with this out-there law.

[wavemanwww]

4 hours ago, robsamui said:

What's a bear bottle?

Oh! So sorry spelt "Beer".  Typo. Please forgive me ROB.  Now here's one, What's a smart arse? Starts with the letter "r" and ends in "i".

 

PS I do not like Smart <deleted> :-)