No Butts! Phuket beach cigarette ban to invoke B100k fine, 90-day ‘grace campaign’ underway

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No Butts! Phuket beach cigarette ban to invoke B100k fine, 90-day ‘grace campaign’ underway

Tanyaluk Sakoot

 

DMCR officials explain the smoking ban to a beach worker in Patong yesterday (Nov 1). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

 

PHUKET: Officials from the Phuket office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) have launched their campaign to inform beachgoers of the ban on smoking cigarettes at Patong Beach that came into effect yesterday (Nov 1).

 

The event marked the start of a 90-day amnesty period before DMCR officials will start charging people for breaching Section 17 of the 2015 law on marine and beach resources management – which means that people caught smoking on Patong Beach after the 90-day amnesty may face a fine of up to B100,000 or even up to one year in jail for a breach of the act.

 

However, DMCR Director-General Jatuporn Buruspat has confirmed to The Phuket Newsthat the penalties specified under the new ban will now also be applied to people caught littering or dumping any rubbish on the listed protected beaches.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/no-butts-phuket-beach-cigarette-ban-to-invoke-b100k-fine-90-day-grace-campaign-underway-64547.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-11-02

[smedly]

this is all about some uneducated official becoming fixated on one thing "Cigarette Butts" when the real problem is general littering and people not using or being provided with an adequate way of disposing of "all" trash not just on the beaches but everywhere in Thailand

 

It is also worth noting that they have fixated this nonsense on tourist beaches and not Thai

 

The smoking eating or drinking on the beach is not the offending act - it is littering - that is what they should be targeting 

[InMyShadow]

Haha they are dreaming. Catch a 2 week millionaires half way through his trip and he will have max 50k if that  and  a return ticket 

 

I think you could negotiate it down to 2k easy 

[LivinginKata]

100,000 baht fine for smoking .... these officials are idiots. A Thai would not pay the much for killing another human being. I wait and see the first person paying after the 90 days amnesty ... never happen. 

[darksidedog]

It seems to be tourist beaches being targeted, which makes me worried that this is going to be used to target purely foreigners for a stupid amount of cash, while the locals on the other beaches can smoke and litter with impunity. A lot of backpackers that come to Thailand don't have 100,000 Baht for their whole trip, so I can see the hospital bill crisis we hear of so often, being replaced with a smoking fine crisis.

[smedly]

I am 100% behind any campaign to stop people littering and that means "ALL PEOPLE" and "ALL LOCATIONS" not just on a beach, but it is quite frankly absurd to fine anyone that is not littering and is taking sensible responsibility for their trash and disposing of it in the correct place.

 

Someone smoking on a beach IMO has done nothing wrong in terms of littering unless they throw the butt in the sand and don't dispose of it correctly, now if they want to ban people from smoking on a beach for other reasons well that is an entirely different matter. 

[InMyShadow]

This nonsense is absolute proof that ALL thais truly believe farangs are all millionaires. 

They are about to enter a steep learning curve and if jail time is actually handed out the world press will go into overdrive, the news stories don't get much juicer than this.. Locked up abroad is about to start its next series but not for drug smuggling but.. Smoking a cigarette lol

[madmitch]

It's not just foreign tourist beaches. Bang Saen is almost exclusively Thai and is one of the beaches included, as are Samila and Cha Am.

 

Despite that second sentence, I've still given Smedly a like!

 

[Franko666]

Cigarettes butts, great initiative but what about the 100 metre wide by more than a half a km long dark brown effluent stain in the seawater that the holidaymakers happily swim at along Pootong Beach. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

[HHTel]

Hua Hin have already stated that the fine will be 2,000 baht.  I believe it's also stated on their signage. Somebody has a brain!

[jobwolf]

Why only listed Beaches, is this a typical example of not thinking again? Just go and kill Tourism, you are working hard on it.

 

[NamKangMan]

18 hours ago, smedly said:

this is all about some uneducated official becoming fixated on one thing "Cigarette Butts" when the real problem is general littering and people not using or being provided with an adequate way of disposing of "all" trash not just on the beaches but everywhere in Thailand

 

It is also worth noting that they have fixated this nonsense on tourist beaches and not Thai

 

The smoking eating or drinking on the beach is not the offending act - it is littering - that is what they should be targeting 

 

"when the real problem is general littering" - do you seriously think littering is Phuket's REAL problem????

 

Once again, just another "smoke and mirrors illusion" (no pun intended) by officials to turn attention away from the REAL reasons Phuket is in economy decline. 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by NamKangMan

[smedly]

4 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"when the real problem is general littering" - do you seriously think littering is Phuket's REAL problem????

 

Once again, just another "some and mirrors illusion" by officials to turn attention away from the REAL reasons Phuket is in economy decline. 

This topic is about smoking on beaches, I am saying it should be about all littering garbage and how people are disposing of it in general, if you think Phuket has other issues then why not start your own thread to discuss them. 

[NamKangMan]

14 minutes ago, smedly said:

This topic is about smoking on beaches, I am saying it should be about all littering garbage and how people are disposing of it in general, if you think Phuket has other issues then why not start your own thread to discuss them. 

 

My point being, there will be no one on the beaches here to worry about littering in the future, let alone, them smoking on the beach. 

 

Would you come to Phuket to snorkel and feed the fish, after the Russian women was arrested?

 

If you are a smoker, would you come to Phuket to sunbake on the beach, if you couldn't smoke a cigarette?

 

Officials here need to appear to be doing something to improve Phuket, whilst actually doing nothing to improve Phuket.

 

Get it?

[smedly]

44 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

My point being, there will be no one on the beaches here to worry about littering in the future, let alone, them smoking on the beach. 

 

Would you come to Phuket to snorkel and feed the fish, after the Russian women was arrested?

 

If you are a smoker, would you come to Phuket to sunbake on the beach, if you couldn't smoke a cigarette?

 

Officials here need to appear to be doing something to improve Phuket, whilst actually doing nothing to improve Phuket.

 

Get it?

no need for the attitude dude, I agree with all of your points but you criticized my most for perhaps not including "your points" which are still not part of this topic

 

are you getting it ?

[Si Thea01]

4 hours ago, HHTel said:

Hua Hin have already stated that the fine will be 2,000 baht.  I believe it's also stated on their signage. Somebody has a brain!

The fine is probably 2000 Baht in Phuket as well, just that somebody is allowing for current and future inflation. 

[dinsdale]

I think you are all wrong. Bt100,000 is justified. How else can the top dog get more of these......

[Psimbo]

20 hours ago, smedly said:

this is all about some uneducated official becoming fixated on one thing "Cigarette Butts" when the real problem is general littering and people not using or being provided with an adequate way of disposing of "all" trash not just on the beaches but everywhere in Thailand

 

It is also worth noting that they have fixated this nonsense on tourist beaches and not Thai

 

The smoking eating or drinking on the beach is not the offending act - it is littering - that is what they should be targeting 

What is the difference between a 'tourist beach' and a 'Thai beach'? Just curious so I know which one I am visiting.

[NamKangMan]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

no need for the attitude dude, I agree with all of your points but you criticized my most for perhaps not including "your points" which are still not part of this topic

 

are you getting it ?

 

No problem here, smedly.

 

It's my opinion that the reason western tourists are not coming here anymore is not because of cigarette butts being disposed of in the sand by smokers.

 

Phuket has far bigger problems than this. 

 

That said, and back on topic, cigarette butts buried in the sand is the least of your problems for what is buried on the beaches here. 

 

Here's a couple of You Tube clips showing the absolute disregard locals have for the very natural beauty that brings in their income.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the first clip, officials must have known what was going on, but feel it's more important to fine tourists, or what will be left of the tourists coming here, with a 100k fine for throwing a cigarette butt into the sand.

 

I don't condone ANY littering, or illegal dumping of rubbish.  However, I would rather step on an old weathered cigarette butt, than what is in those garbage bags, after some sand erosion exposed their contents to the surface. 

 

After watch those videos, you could say "Amazing Thailand" but its more like "Polluted Phuket" and it's a disgrace. 

 

[NamKangMan]

6 minutes ago, Psimbo said:

What is the difference between a 'tourist beach' and a 'Thai beach'? Just curious so I know which one I am visiting.

 

"What is the difference between a 'tourist beach' and a 'Thai beach'?" - the cost of the fines.  

 

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by NamKangMan

[HHTel]

54 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

I think you are all wrong. Bt100,000 is justified. How else can the top dog get more of these......

Actually, they're using a marine law which does carry the 100,000 fine and a year in jail.  However, realistically I don't believe the max fine will ever be awarded. 

[dick dasterdly]

As far as I can make out - on Phuket, it's only Patong beach subject to this ban at the moment.

 

It will be interesting to see if the smoking ban is then extended to other tourist beaches.

 

As others have pointed out, the main problem is littering/washed-up rubbish/sea pollution etc.  Smoking (as opposed to littering, by dropping butts) on the beach must be close to the least important of the environmental problems!

[Saan]

Cigarettes have been banned at bars and smokers just ignore. Beaches will be the same after a couple of months.

[NamKangMan]

2 hours ago, Saan said:

Cigarettes have been banned at bars and smokers just ignore. Beaches will be the same after a couple of months.

 

Yes, and all that will be left is the law saying there is a 100k fine, and whenever one of the BiB needs the money for his wedding, a tourist will be "banged up" to pay for it.   

[HHTel]

18 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

It will be interesting to see if the smoking ban is then extended to other tourist beaches.

It has been announced that after the 90 day amnesty, from Feb 1st the law will apply to ALL beaches.

[dick dasterdly]

4 hours ago, HHTel said:

It has been announced that after the 90 day amnesty, from Feb 1st the law will apply to ALL beaches.

Do you have a link re. this announcement?

[the guest]

On 11/2/2017 at 3:41 PM, LivinginKata said:

100,000 baht fine for smoking .... these officials are idiots. A Thai would not pay the much for killing another human being. I wait and see the first person paying after the 90 days amnesty ... never happen. 

Really, have you been in detention before, or even in a Thai jail? I suspect not. Believe me, as soon as your in the  system, it will be surprising how quick you will find the money. 

[HHTel]

4 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

Do you have a link re. this announcement?

I read it on this forum but can't find it now.  However it is mentioned in several sites:

Quote

After the 90-day trial period, the ban will be enforced on all Thai beaches as well as on passenger and tourist boats

This is just one of those sites:

http://says.com/my/news/thailand-bans-smoking-on-all-its-beaches

[the guest]

How to kill the tourism season in some very easy steps.

I wonder if anyone in authority in Thailand has a brain ?

The easy solution is to encourage people to bin their waste, including cigarette buts.

 

[NamKangMan]

5 hours ago, the guest said:

How to kill the tourism season in some very easy steps.

I wonder if anyone in authority in Thailand has a brain ?

The easy solution is to encourage people to bin their waste, including cigarette buts.

 

 

Bins cost money.  Extortion Fines make money. 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2017 by NamKangMan