Report Pattaya’s Smoking Crackdown: Expats Voice Concerns

[baansgr]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Stop selling cigarettes' in 7/11 better still all supermarkets,  no that wont happen with the tobacco monopoly, 

And pussy, beer, weed..now off you pop to your stupid world 

[blaze master]

1 hour ago, Spock said:

Go home if you want a sanitised life. Foreigners originally enjoyed the ability to get away from a life governed by rules, regulations and bans but now seem to want an environment that is stricter than their home country.

 

You cant smoke in so many places in Canada now. Thailand is way behind.

[Thingamabob]

3 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Dear God, with everybody driving the wrong way, without helmets, drunk drivers, drugs galore, the authorities think that banning smoking in open areas is the priority?

 

Is this place being run by retarded children?

Not a priority, but a good move nonetheless.

[Will B Good]

One long-term visitor expressed doubts,

 

“I have-cough- serious doubts this-cough cough- will be applied- cough- equally.”

 

 

[KannikaP]

3 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Dear God, with everybody driving the wrong way, without helmets, drunk drivers, drugs galore, the authorities think that banning smoking in open areas is the priority?

 

Is this place being run by retarded children?

Ssssh, you cannot use that word any more!

[JensenZ]

On 7/15/2025 at 6:00 PM, snoop1130 said:

Critics further highlighted the absence of essential amenities such as public toilets and adequate rubbish bins. They questioned why efforts to catch smokers aren’t matched with efforts to provide these basic facilities.

Lack of public amenities is the biggest concern of all. When I walk on Pattaya Beach, I have to pay to use a toilet, if I can find one.

 

I'm onboard with stopping people from using the beach as a giant ashtray, but I can't see how it can be policed.

 

Here's a walk I did on Jomtien Beach about a month ago. Cigarette butts were not of any concern here.

 

 

[dlclark97]

3 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

can't have any of that nonsense on a beach can we , truly outrageous 

I believe you will find Thai law bans men being shirtless in public.  This includes while operating any motor vehicle.  From many shirtless men I have seen in numerous locations in addition to the beach areas, it should not only be banned but the law should be enforced.  Some pretty disgusting pot bellies out there on display.

[JensenZ]

2 minutes ago, dlclark97 said:

I believe you will find Thai law bans men being shirtless in public.  This includes while operating any motor vehicle.  From many shirtless men I have seen in numerous locations in addition to the beach areas, it should not only be banned but the law should be enforced.  Some pretty disgusting pot bellies out there on display.

So it should be illegal if you're old and ugly with a pot belly?

[PingRoundTheWorld]

On 7/15/2025 at 2:00 PM, snoop1130 said:

Introduced as a measure to clean up the shores and safeguard public health, the ban imposes a 5,000 baht (approximately 137 USD) fine on those caught smoking on the sand or nearby footpaths.

Good. Now do nightclubs and any closed venue. Secondhand smoke is a huge problem in Pattaya nightlife - there is not a single venue I know of that has a non-smoking area. (whereas in Bangkok almost every club does). When you're there for vacation for a few days it's fine, but for people that live there or visit often it's an actual health hazard.

[Hummin]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

I can understand this littering issue - it is very simple to provide an ashtray or just use an empty container but an outright ban is and always was stupid, it is an outdoor area punish those that litter including smokers

 

there is a  huge amount of garbage that goes into the sea every time it rains, pattaya in general has a massive garbage problem, it is a dirty slum

 

go to italy spain or anywhere in europe - the place is pristine

It is a good start to get rid of smoking in public, and as well condominiums balconies and hotels. 

[Hummin]

5 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Lack of public amenities is the biggest concern of all. When I walk on Pattaya Beach, I have to pay to use a toilet, if I can find one.

 

I'm onboard with stopping people from using the beach as a giant ashtray, but I can't see how it can be policed.

 

Here's a walk I did on Jomtien Beach about a month ago. Cigarette butts were not of any concern here.

 

 

What you find on the beaches in the gulf today, can come from anywhere, not just only Pattaya and jomtien 

[connda]

Pattaya’s Smoking Crackdown: Expats Voice Concerns

 

Quit smoking!  Problem solved. 

[Mad Mustang]

Put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.

[Formaleins]

"However, numerous foreign residents view it as yet another poorly executed scheme that could ultimately be counterproductive"

 

A poorly executed scheme? Surely not, not here in Thailand.

[JensenZ]

17 minutes ago, Hummin said:

What you find on the beaches in the gulf today, can come from anywhere, not just only Pattaya and jomtien 

 Oh, ok, I didn't know that. Because it comes from elsewhere, no effort should be made to clean it up? Yet they are complaining about cigarette butts.

[superal]

The smoking ban on the beach is just another way of imposing fines if they choose to and to include nearby walkways is ambiguous . If there is concern about the beach litter it's about time that mechanized beach  equipment was used early every morning . Plus kick out the cheap Charlies who sleep on the beach instead of hotels .

Pattaya is long overdue a makeover .  Regarding health , there should be notices about the sewage polluted sea . Hardly a beach holiday destination.

[Hummin]

11 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

 Oh, ok, I didn't know that. Because it comes from elsewhere, no effort should be made to clean it up? Yet they are complaining about cigarette butts.

I just said it looks worse because not only do the trash comes from mainland, but also from offshore. I didn’t say they shouldn’t do what needs to be done to prevent trash to float out at once there is a rainfall or two. 

 

 

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, superal said:

The smoking ban on the beach is just another way of imposing fines if they choose to and to include nearby walkways is ambiguous . If there is concern about the beach litter it's about time that mechanized beach  equipment was used early every morning . Plus kick out the cheap Charlies who sleep on the beach instead of hotels .

Pattaya is long overdue a makeover .  Regarding health , there should be notices about the sewage polluted sea . Hardly a beach holiday destination.

If it was so easy, it is just tea money for police? Smokers takes no responsibility for why other non smokers welcomes it. 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Well don't come.,.. anything else?

Indeed.. and many others will not come.... that is why tourism is going down.. Why should I worry about that????

[riverhigh]

As once a heavy smoker myself, I can sympathize with your addiction to the nicotine drug. Not easy to give up. However, trying to justify your drug addiction by saying there are worse things in life is not going to help you or those who may be unfortunate enough to  inhale your second-hand smoke.

[JAS21]

5 hours ago, kwilco said:

what is the significance of that?

555 ….on that day you must have been towards the back of the queue or absent …

[sambum]

12 hours ago, smedly said:

I can understand this littering issue - it is very simple to provide an ashtray or just use an empty container but an outright ban is and always was stupid, it is an outdoor area punish those that litter including smokers

 

there is a  huge amount of garbage that goes into the sea every time it rains, pattaya in general has a massive garbage problem, it is a dirty slum

 

go to italy spain or anywhere in europe - the place is pristine

 

".....there is a  huge amount of garbage that goes into the sea every time it rains, pattaya in general has a massive garbage problem, it is a dirty slum"

 

So let's stop people smoking on the beach - sorted! 🙂 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Hummin said:

If it was so easy, it is just tea money for police? Smokers takes no responsibility for why other non smokers welcomes it. 

 

As an ex smoker of 15 years, I find that normally, smokers realise the discomfort it causes others, and take steps to avoid upsetting them, but the non-smokers (especially ex-smokers) IMHO are totally intolerant, and it is they who are sometimes the problem!

[BarraMarra]

Well as there dithering about the Tourist tax they can recoup a bit of lost revenue from it by fining Smokers. Maybe you can stand in the road and dodge the traffic to have a Ciggie.

[still kicking]

8 hours ago, Halnodeya said:

Smoking should definitely be banned on the beaches. 99% of smokers do not dispose of their butts correctly and flick them anywhere. Even yesterday a guy on the back of a baht bus finished his cigarette and automatically just threw it out of the road in front of me. Guys walking down the street just drop them down the drains. 

 

Best thing that could happen is to ban smoking on the beach. 

I live in the West, and smoking outdoors is forbidden on the beach and in stadiums, and outside restaurants, anywhere in the city, vaping is illegal unless you have a prescription from a doctor and no nicotine vapes 

[Hummin]

19 minutes ago, sambum said:

 

As an ex smoker of 15 years, I find that normally, smokers realise the discomfort it causes others, and take steps to avoid upsetting them, but the non-smokers (especially ex-smokers) IMHO are totally intolerant, and it is they who are sometimes the problem!

Well, there is places in Thailand where you eat breakfast at lets say hotels with open serving buffet outside under rooftop, and the next table light up cigarettes, because there is an ashtray there? 

 

This is the norm in Thailand, even there is marked a smoke free area. It starts to get tiresome to complain all the time, or let these thing annoy you. We have travelled so many places now, and know basically where we want to go because of earlier experiences. 

 

Jomtien have been trashed now in the high season of Benidorm tourism. Never going back there, and sad because it used to be a lay back place with not som many tourists. Same goes for many hidden gems that was not so well known before covid, 

[sambum]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Well, there is places in Thailand where you eat breakfast at lets say hotels with open serving buffet outside under rooftop, and the next table light up cigarettes, because there is an ashtray there? 

 

This is the norm in Thailand, even there is marked a smoke free area. It starts to get tiresome to complain all the time, or let these thing annoy you. We have travelled so many places now, and know basically where we want to go because of earlier experiences. 

 

Jomtien have been trashed now in the high season of Benidorm tourism. Never going back there, and sad because it used to be a lay back place with not som many tourists. Same goes for many hidden gems that was not so well known before covid, 

 

Unfortunately, times change, and places change.

 

But look on the positive side - what was it like for you before the purge on smoking? You probably couldn't go and have a meal anywhere without the smell of cigarette smoke pervading the atmosphere?

[lamyai3]

Just at the same time as Pattaya is lamenting the drop in Chinese tourists, they decide to ostracise one third of the world's smoking population. You couldn't make it up... 

 

 

[Hummin]

25 minutes ago, sambum said:

 

Unfortunately, times change, and places change.

 

But look on the positive side - what was it like for you before the purge on smoking? You probably couldn't go and have a meal anywhere without the smell of cigarette smoke pervading the atmosphere?

Can't say, because it was the norm everywhere, but the first thing you discovered when they banned smoking, you didn't have hangover anymore, your clothes didn't smell cigarettes, and less girls you went home with didnt smoke on the bed after sex, 

 

The best thing about the 90'ies was banning smoking in public establishments.

 

It is not only me, my wife is worse, she hated smoking and people do not follow local rules

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, hotchilli said:

RTP cannot multi-task... one  crackdown at a time

They all meet in the morning and someone pulls a topic out of a hat! 'Today's target is' and that is what they go for, all other infringements are ignored that day.