Pattaya: Electronic Cigarettes "sting" ridiculed on social media

Picture: Sophon Cable TV

Sophon Cable TV on Facebook reported on the latest activities of the Pattaya administration in cracking down on electronic cigarettes. 

But if they expected their story or the crackdown itself to be taken seriously, they had another thing coming!

If posters on the page were anything to go by, that is.

Sophon Cable TV reported that Pornchai Sang-iat and his DOPA team sent in a secret operative to conduct the sting at Muang Jamlong market.

There were reports that electronic cigarettes - illegal in Thailand - and vaping fluid were on sale. 

They described how two 1000 baht bills were handed over then seen in the pocket of trader Sorayuth Mayotha, 45,  who was caught with 6 smoking devices and 33 bottles of vaping fluid. 

The "haul" was displayed back at base and the miscreant prosecuted for selling.

Posters mocked the limited operation with one calling it a soap opera.

While another said that a "sting" was completely unnecessary - the devices are openly on sale everywhere including other markets in Pattaya. 

 

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The government could show more concern with road rules causing accident and death  and pollution

It is a joke, the country is already a laughing stock yet they persist.

They sell these things in hospitals (when they're open) in the UK and if you can't afford them your doctor can prescribe them

In Thailand they ban them, it's a perfect example of stupidity by the rule makers and lobbyists.

The guy is just trying to earn a living, best you chase a few bank managers 

Not long ago it used to be headline news when they'd raid a "gambling den" consisting of 5-6 old ladies with one of those plastic "betting" mats and a deck of cards or some dice.
The cops would proudly display the 200 baht they seized as evidence along with the "gambling equipment".

It is a bit of a laugh though. When the cops do their job, people ridicule them. When they don't do their job, people ridicule them.

Makes you wonder who are the ones that really should be ridiculed. 

31 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Not long ago it used to be headline news when they'd raid a "gambling den" consisting of 5-6 old ladies with one of those plastic "betting" mats and a deck of cards or some dice.
The cops would proudly display the 200 baht they seized as evidence along with the "gambling equipment".

It is a bit of a laugh though. When the cops do their job, people ridicule them. When they don't do their job, people ridicule them.

Makes you wonder who are the ones that really should be ridiculed. 

A lot of it is selective law making and enforcement for protectionism purposes.  

If Thailand does not / can not make it or produce it, then it's either taxed out of the market, or made illegal.  

Difficult to respect laws and enforcement when the sole reason they exist is to benefit the Thai elite.  

 

Is there another country in the world where they'd rather you smoke tobacco than vape? OK Indonesia probably but anywhere else?

17 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

Is there another country in the world where they'd rather you smoke tobacco than vape? OK Indonesia probably but anywhere else?

Phillipines

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

It is a bit of a laugh though. When the cops do their job, people ridicule them. When they don't do their job, people ridicule them.

They are catching little fish to show off... the big ones swim freely.

3 hours ago, aussie11950 said:

The government could show more concern with road rules causing accident and death  and pollution

And Corruption All the Way to the Top. 

3 hours ago, aussie11950 said:

The government could show more concern with road rules causing accident and death  and pollution

They can't achieve that, but nailing a few traders is okay.

smoking them out, one at a time...

3 hours ago, Kerryd said:

It is a bit of a laugh though. When the cops do their job, people ridicule them. When they don't do their job, people ridicule them.

Makes you wonder who are the ones that really should be ridiculed. 

Perhaps they wouldn't be ridiculed if they dealt with the serious stuff instead of chasing after the smallest fish in the pond. Don't you think?

If the police want to crack down on this then they should raid RCA in Bangkok. I've watched dozens of videos on YouTube taken there by someone who seems to have a fetish about girls smoking. Every video shows dozens of them vaping away.

Ropa DOPA - Ali said it first.

I've met a few tourist over the years sitting there at a bar vaping away and when you tell them it's illegal in Thailand they dont believe you, OK dont walk around vaping you'll soon find out,

Note: Thailand banned e-cigs, vape liquid and hookahs back in 2014 as the Health Ministry determined that they were leading "youth" into starting to smoke (in part because of the false claims that vaping and hookahs weren't harmful and in part due to the "fruity" flavours offered). Note they didn't ban cigarettes though (too much money involved I guess.)

Considering that most "vapers" are clueless about what is actually in their "juice" and their attitude that they think they have a "right" to blow their "vape" into other people's faces, they (e-cigarettes) should be controlled and regulated just like cigarettes (not sure they sure be outright banned though).

Of course, one has to keep in mind that, for example, production of cigarettes/tobacco is regulated and inspected, production of "vape juice" isn't. Which means literally anyone can make it and put whatever the **** they want into it with little or no control over that **** is. (And you can imagine in Thailand how there'd be absolutely no control over what is being put into the liquid.)

An example of chemicals commonly found in "juice". (And you thought it was all just "natural flavouring", didn't you ?)

Nicotine and main content

Exactly what the e-cigarette vapor consists of varies in composition and concentration across and within manufacturers. The Royal College of General Practitioners stated in 2016 that "To date 42 chemicals have been detected in ENDS aerosol – though with the ENDS market being unregulated there is significant variation between devices and brands. Limited data exists regarding their chemistry. The e-cigarette vapor usually contains propylene glycol, glycerin, nicotine, flavors, aroma transporters, and other substances.

 

(It was noted that by 2019, they had detected over 80 chemicals.)

What's in an E-Cigarette?

• Nicotine – a highly addictive substance that negatively affects adolescent brain development
• Propylene glycol – a common additive in food; also used to make things like antifreeze, paint solvent, and artificial smoke in fog machines
• Carcinogens- chemicals known to cause cancer, including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde
• Acrolein – a herbicide primarily used to kill weeds, can cause irreversible lung damage
• Diacetyl – a chemical linked to a lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans aka "popcorn lung"
• Diethylene glycol – a toxic chemical used in antifreeze that is linked to lung disease
• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, lead
• Cadmium – a toxic metal found in traditional cigarettes that causes breathing problems and disease
• Benzene – a volatile organic compound (VOC) found in car exhaust
• Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs

https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/e-cigarettes-vaping/whats-in-an-e-cigarette#:~:text=It's not just harmless water,contain trace amounts of nicotine.

A lengthy paper on the The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) site had detailed analysis of all the chemicals found in e-juice samples. It concluded that the product should be regulated due to inconsistent nicotine delivery and issues with labelling. (They noted that in many cases ingredients listed weren't consistent with what was actually in the fluid and that different "vapes" could produce different levels of chemicals depending on the voltage and composition of the "ENDS" - Electronic Nicotine Delivery System.)

(It was found that some "juices" that were labelled as "nicotine free" actually did contain small amounts of nicotine and one that was labelled as containing nicotine didn't have any at all !)

Vape juice can also contain things like THC (from marijuana) so you can bet you can find some with "other" stuff in it as well.

Vapers like to argue that vaping isn't "as harmful" as smoking cigarettes. Which, when you think about it, means it is (or can) be harmful, just not at the same level normally associated with tobacco. They seems to think because it is "vapour" and not "smoke" that somehow means it is OK to blow it in everyone's face.

It's like saying that Covid-19 isn't "as harmful" as Ebola so infected people should be allowed to wander around freely infecting others.

Or saying something like "Vape is 30% less likely to give you cancer so that makes it OK to vape wherever I feel like." (It's probably less than 30% but, for some strange reason, places like the CDC and FDA haven't done any comprehensive testing.)

According to the CDC, a number of US states have started treating "vapes" like cigarettes, in part due to concerns over the possible health hazards from "2nd hand vape".
(It's really a no brainer. They know that vape juice contains all sorts of chemicals and that when heated, those actually produce more chemicals. They know that, just like with cigarettes, "exhaled" vape still contains significant amounts of those chemicals, many of which are known to be harmful (like formaldehyde and of course, nicotine). 

Note: Thailand banned e-cigs, vape liquid and hookahs back in 2014 as the Health Ministry determined that they were leading "youth" into starting to smoke (in part because of the false claims that vaping and hookahs weren't harmful and in part due to the "fruity" flavours offered). Note they didn't ban cigarettes though (too much money involved I guess.)

I never knew why hookahs were banned before. Seemed odd to me but now I know (even if it still seems odd). I'm sure more "youth" are drawn into smoking the same way they are in the "West". Having it around them 24/7 in their homes (especially in rural areas) and peer pressure to "look cool". 
Not a lot of hookahs in Isaan and not a lot of kids who can afford "vapes" and "juices", even locally made stuff.

But lots of cheap cigarettes and tobacco available in pretty much every village in the country.

 

19 hours ago, ukrules said:

It is a joke, the country is already a laughing stock yet they persist.

They sell these things in hospitals (when they're open) in the UK and if you can't afford them your doctor can prescribe them

In Thailand they ban them, it's a perfect example of stupidity by the rule makers and lobbyists.

It's not stupidity, it's because of the wealth of tobacco monopoly. 

On 3/12/2021 at 3:29 PM, ukrules said:

It is a joke, the country is already a laughing stock yet they persist.

They sell these things in hospitals (when they're open) in the UK and if you can't afford them your doctor can prescribe them

In Thailand they ban them, it's a perfect example of stupidity by the rule makers and lobbyists.

From my limited experience sarcasm, irony, and a sense of humor are not in strong evidence in the Kingdom. 

now you can smoke legal cannabis oil, but not with a electronic device ????