File photo for reference only

Electric cannabis vapes have recently become a significant concern due to their increasing prevalence among young people in Thailand. Product Watch issued a warning on January 29 about the widespread availability and the toy-like designs of these vapes, making them appealing yet risky for children and teenagers.

The Product Watch team, led by Dr. Sirach Lapyai from Mahidol University, has been monitoring these products since last year and observed that they are extensively sold online under various brands. These vapes come as disposable devices or with replaceable liquid pods, often containing THC, CBD, Delta-8, or Delta-9 compounds, which pose serious health risks to young users.

Resembling e-cigarettes or small electronics like flash drives, these devices are compact and easy to use, adding to their appeal. They are designed to be easily recharged using standard mobile phone chargers. Dr. Sirach pointed out the alarming design and marketing strategies that target younger audiences, featuring snack-like packaging with cartoon imagery and sweet scents to mask cannabis odor.

The vapour produced is often thin and advertised as odorless, making it hard for parents and teachers to detect. A Chulalongkorn University study revealed a tenfold increase in cannabis use among Thai youth since decriminalization, prompting Dr. Sirach to call for stronger online monitoring and regulation.

She highlighted the ease with which these vapes can be bought online, often without age verification, for merely a few hundred baht. This accessibility poses risks of high THC intake, potentially affecting brain development and increasing the likelihood of addiction among youth.

Amid these developments, April marked a significant decrease in vaping activity in Thailand, following an anti-e-cigarette campaign that led to an 80% drop in sales and usage within two months.

Looking forward, efforts are needed to raise awareness among parents and schools to prevent these devices from becoming a gateway to addiction. Authorities are urged to enhance regulations to control the distribution and marketing of these products to minors, reported The Thaiger.

Key Takeaways

• Electric cannabis vapes are increasingly available and targeted at youth.

• Concerns include the health risks from compounds like THC and CBD.

• Calls for improved regulation and awareness to prevent addiction.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2026-01-30

 

 

Are these just dry herb vapes or something different?

I have never seen a weed vape of this type. Weed vapes are always in my experience dry vapes which do not contain any liquid and are far more expensive than a few hundred baht. I use a Dynavap vape in Thailand which doesn't use a battery but rather a lighter to heat the chamber. I am not sure how these vapes would work but no one in the west uses this type of vape.

15 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Are these just dry herb vapes or something different?

30 minutes ago, Spock said:

I have never seen a weed vape of this type. Weed vapes are always in my experience dry vapes which do not contain any liquid and are far more expensive than a few hundred baht. I use a Dynavap vape in Thailand which doesn't use a battery but rather a lighter to heat the chamber. I am not sure how these vapes would work but no one in the west uses this type of vape.

They are liquid vapes. After the cannabis flower has been extracted the oil produced is used to fill the vape. Often mixed with filler ingredients similar to cig vapes. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycol. The pens or device usually contain the same mechanisms as a standard cig vape.

Liquid vapes are hugely popular in the west now.

33 minutes ago, Spock said:

I have never seen a weed vape of this type.

15 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Are these just dry herb vapes or something different?

These are all over the US. It's cannabis extract mixed with some sort of oil, sort of like what people use with nicotine.

You buy cartridge refills when needed (the brown glass part in the picture), but can continue to recharge the unit.

I tried them in California and didn't care for them much. It's a much "less full" impact than dry herb vapes.

The big problem is contamination of the oil, and whether that in itself is healthy.

I wouldn't trust smoking one in Thailand because of what they may contain.

12 minutes ago, blaze master said:

They are liquid vapes. After the cannabis flower has been extracted the oil produced is used to fill the vape. Often mixed with filler ingredients similar to cig vapes. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycol. The pens or device usually contain the same mechanisms as a standard cig vape.

Liquid vapes are hugely popular in the west now.

Obviously I should have said that they are not popular in Australia. The vape market has been severely tightened here a couple of years ago and there are currently only 2 electronic vapes approved for sale and others cannot even be bought online. So when you say they are hugely popular in the west, this does not include Australia. Maybe they are available in a corner of the black market, but certainly not for medical which is all but recreational use the way it is run.

1 minute ago, Spock said:

They are not popular in Australia. The vape market has been severely tightened a couple of years ago and there are currently only 2 electronic vapes approved for sale and others cannot even be bought online. So when you say they are hugely popular in the west, this does not include Australia. Maybe they are available in a corner of the black market, but certainly not for medical which is all but recreational use the way it is run.

In canada we have hundreds of different vapes all sold legally. Same situation in many states. I know they are quite popular in england France Germany and many other countries as well. Legal or black market is irrelevant. Its the actual use that matters. Vaping cannabis is on the rise.

It might not be the case in Australia but many other western countries it is.

9 minutes ago, Spock said:

Obviously I should have said that they are not popular in Australia. The vape market has been severely tightened here a couple of years ago and there are currently only 2 electronic vapes approved for sale and others cannot even be bought online. So when you say they are hugely popular in the west, this does not include Australia. Maybe they are available in a corner of the black market, but certainly not for medical which is all but recreational use the way it is run.

Good ol' Aus. More and more controls.

19 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Are these just dry herb vapes or something different?

Check this ; https://www.gearpatrol.com/home/best-weed-vaporizers/

1 hour ago, digger70 said:

Check this ; https://www.gearpatrol.com/home/best-weed-vaporizers/

Only two vapes can be purchased in Australia, including online into Australia - the Volcano and the Mighty.

I have not heard any young people complaining. There are some very high quality weed vapes here at big prices. And unfortunately, disposables--they cannot be refilled.

6 hours ago, Spock said:

I have never seen a weed vape of this type. Weed vapes are always in my experience dry vapes which do not contain any liquid and are far more expensive than a few hundred baht. I use a Dynavap vape in Thailand which doesn't use a battery but rather a lighter to heat the chamber. I am not sure how these vapes would work but no one in the west uses this type of vape.

I have a dry herb vape (dont like it), an Ooze Ceramic one for solid concentrate (my fav) and 510 batteries for liquid carts. All were purchased in the USA

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

designed to be easily recharged using standard mobile phone chargers.

Lithium batteries?? Perhaps they will catch light and possibly explode.

Are dry herb vapes legal in Thailand? They are essentially a pipe with an electric heating element (vs lighting with a flame)

Wasn't the idea of vapes to encourage cigarette smokers to reduce the danger (from the chemicals in cigarettes) to their health by switching to nicotine-only vapes? If so, that plan has spectacularly backfired in the UK, where many young people (probably non-smokers previously) have taken up vaping and are now addicted to nicotine...

22 hours ago, dinsdale said:

something different?

This one.

Both disposables and 510 carts, 1g - 3g, 80 - 90 % THC. These pack a punch.

Cannabis extracts/concentrates are illegal. The police should be enforcing the laws.

44 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Wasn't the idea of vapes to encourage cigarette smokers to reduce the danger (from the chemicals in cigarettes) to their health by switching to nicotine-only vapes? If so, that plan has spectacularly backfired in the UK, where many young people (probably non-smokers previously) have taken up vaping and are now addicted to nicotine...

Yes vaping is less harmful than smoking, due to no combustion, no burning of tobacco, hence no tar and much less formaldehyde and 100’s of chemicals. You can choose the amount of nicotine, and you can go less and less as you wish.

Below is a link for more explanation if anyone is interested.

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/vaping-myths-and-the-facts/

28 minutes ago, Globalres said:

Yes vaping is less harmful than smoking, due to no combustion, no burning of tobacco, hence no tar and much less formaldehyde and 100’s of chemicals. You can choose the amount of nicotine, and you can go less and less as you wish.

Below is a link for more explanation if anyone is interested.

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking/vaping-myths-and-the-facts/

Let’s see if this works, link above did not.

Vaping myths and the facts

There can be some confusion about vapes (sometimes called e-cigarettes or e-cigs). This is not surprising, because there is lots of misleading information out there.

Here are some of the most common myths about vaping, and the facts based on scientific evidence and data.

Important

It is important to remember that vaping is not completely harmless. Children and non-smokers should never vape.

Myth 1: Vaping is just as harmful as smoking

Fact

Nicotine vaping is not risk-free, but it is less harmful than smoking.

In 2022, UK experts reviewed the international evidence and found that "in the short and medium-term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking".

Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn – many are poisonous and up to 70 cause cancer. Most of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke, including tar and carbon monoxide, are not contained in vape aerosol.

People who switch completely from smoking to vaping have reduced exposure to toxins associated with risks of cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Myth 2: Nicotine is very harmful to health

Fact

While nicotine is a highly addictive drug, it does not contain toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, including tar and tobacco.

It is the many other toxic chemicals contained in tobacco smoke that cause almost all the harm from smoking.

Nicotine itself does not cause cancer, lung disease, heart disease or stroke and has been used safely for many years in medicines to help people stop smoking.

Myth 3: Vaping does not help people quit smoking

Fact

Nicotine vapes are one of the most effective stop smoking aids.

Evidence shows that nicotine vapes are actually more effective than nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gum.

Some people find vaping helps them because the hand-to-mouth action is like smoking, plus you get similar sensations, like "throat hit".

It's important to choose an e-liquid with enough nicotine to reduce withdrawal symptoms and urges to smoke. A specialist vape shop or your local Stop Smoking Service can advise you.

Find out more about using vapes to quit smoking.

Information:

Almost two-thirds of people who use a vape along with support from their local Stop Smoking Service successfully quit smoking.

Myth 4: Switching to a vape is just swapping one harmful addiction for another

Fact

While vapes contain the same addictive substance as cigarettes, vaping nicotine is less harmful.

Smoking gives you nicotine by burning tobacco, which creates many harmful toxins that can cause serious illnesses including cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Vaping gives you nicotine by heating an e-liquid, which is less harmful. Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes.

When you are ready and feel sure you won't go back to smoking, you can gradually reduce the nicotine strength in your e-liquid and your vaping frequency until you have stopped fully and are nicotine-free.

Myth 5: People use vapes more frequently than cigarettes – that must be worse

Fact

It is normal to vape more frequently than you used to smoke, and this is not more harmful.

Each puff on a vape carries a small fraction of the risks of a puff on a cigarette.

Vaping is different from smoking in the way it delivers nicotine to the brain. With smoking, you get a very quick hit in the short time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

With vaping, generally it takes longer for nicotine to reach the brain and you need to "sip" on your vape more frequently.

Information:

It's important to use your vape as much as you need to help you stop smoking and stay quit.

Myth 6: Vapes are not regulated and we do not know what's in them

Fact

In the UK, nicotine vaping products are tightly regulated for safety and quality.

All products for sale must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with detailed information including listing of all ingredients.

Information:

Always buy your vaping products from a reputable supplier like a specialist vape shop, pharmacy, supermarket or a UK-based online retailer so they are covered by UK safety and quality regulations.

Myth 7: Vaping causes 'popcorn lung'

Fact

Vaping does not cause "popcorn lung", the common name for a rare disease called bronchiolitis obliterans.

The disease was found in a group of factory workers exposed to a chemical (diacetyl) used to flavour popcorn.

Diacetyl is contained in cigarette smoke, but it is banned as an ingredient in UK-regulated nicotine vapes and e-liquids.

Myth 8: Exposure to vape aerosol is harmful to people around you

Fact

There is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you.

While secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious harm to others, there is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you, and any risks are likely to be very low.

But as a precaution, it is best not to vape around babies and children if you can avoid it. Young children often copy what adults do.

Always be considerate when vaping around anyone else, especially people with health conditions like asthma who might be more sensitive to vape aerosol.

9 hours ago, Spock said:

I have never seen a weed vape of this type. Weed vapes are always in my experience dry vapes which do not contain any liquid and are far more expensive than a few hundred baht. I use a Dynavap vape in Thailand which doesn't use a battery but rather a lighter to heat the chamber. I am not sure how these vapes would work but no one in the west uses this type of vape.

I'm pretty sure they are everywhere in the west 🤔

1 hour ago, Globalres said:

Let’s see if this works, link above did not.

Vaping myths and the facts

There can be some confusion about vapes (sometimes called e-cigarettes or e-cigs). This is not surprising, because there is lots of misleading information out there.

Here are some of the most common myths about vaping, and the facts based on scientific evidence and data.

Important

It is important to remember that vaping is not completely harmless. Children and non-smokers should never vape.

Myth 1: Vaping is just as harmful as smoking

Fact

Nicotine vaping is not risk-free, but it is less harmful than smoking.

In 2022, UK experts reviewed the international evidence and found that "in the short and medium-term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking".

Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn – many are poisonous and up to 70 cause cancer. Most of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke, including tar and carbon monoxide, are not contained in vape aerosol.

People who switch completely from smoking to vaping have reduced exposure to toxins associated with risks of cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Myth 2: Nicotine is very harmful to health

Fact

While nicotine is a highly addictive drug, it does not contain toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, including tar and tobacco.

It is the many other toxic chemicals contained in tobacco smoke that cause almost all the harm from smoking.

Nicotine itself does not cause cancer, lung disease, heart disease or stroke and has been used safely for many years in medicines to help people stop smoking.

Myth 3: Vaping does not help people quit smoking

Fact

Nicotine vapes are one of the most effective stop smoking aids.

Evidence shows that nicotine vapes are actually more effective than nicotine replacement therapies, like patches or gum.

Some people find vaping helps them because the hand-to-mouth action is like smoking, plus you get similar sensations, like "throat hit".

It's important to choose an e-liquid with enough nicotine to reduce withdrawal symptoms and urges to smoke. A specialist vape shop or your local Stop Smoking Service can advise you.

Find out more about using vapes to quit smoking.

Information:

Almost two-thirds of people who use a vape along with support from their local Stop Smoking Service successfully quit smoking.

Myth 4: Switching to a vape is just swapping one harmful addiction for another

Fact

While vapes contain the same addictive substance as cigarettes, vaping nicotine is less harmful.

Smoking gives you nicotine by burning tobacco, which creates many harmful toxins that can cause serious illnesses including cancer, lung disease, heart disease and stroke.

Vaping gives you nicotine by heating an e-liquid, which is less harmful. Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes.

When you are ready and feel sure you won't go back to smoking, you can gradually reduce the nicotine strength in your e-liquid and your vaping frequency until you have stopped fully and are nicotine-free.

Myth 5: People use vapes more frequently than cigarettes – that must be worse

Fact

It is normal to vape more frequently than you used to smoke, and this is not more harmful.

Each puff on a vape carries a small fraction of the risks of a puff on a cigarette.

Vaping is different from smoking in the way it delivers nicotine to the brain. With smoking, you get a very quick hit in the short time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

With vaping, generally it takes longer for nicotine to reach the brain and you need to "sip" on your vape more frequently.

Information:

It's important to use your vape as much as you need to help you stop smoking and stay quit.

Myth 6: Vapes are not regulated and we do not know what's in them

Fact

In the UK, nicotine vaping products are tightly regulated for safety and quality.

All products for sale must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with detailed information including listing of all ingredients.

Information:

Always buy your vaping products from a reputable supplier like a specialist vape shop, pharmacy, supermarket or a UK-based online retailer so they are covered by UK safety and quality regulations.

Myth 7: Vaping causes 'popcorn lung'

Fact

Vaping does not cause "popcorn lung", the common name for a rare disease called bronchiolitis obliterans.

The disease was found in a group of factory workers exposed to a chemical (diacetyl) used to flavour popcorn.

Diacetyl is contained in cigarette smoke, but it is banned as an ingredient in UK-regulated nicotine vapes and e-liquids.

Myth 8: Exposure to vape aerosol is harmful to people around you

Fact

There is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you.

While secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious harm to others, there is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you, and any risks are likely to be very low.

But as a precaution, it is best not to vape around babies and children if you can avoid it. Young children often copy what adults do.

Always be considerate when vaping around anyone else, especially people with health conditions like asthma who might be more sensitive to vape aerosol.

The drawback of vaping is that it is easier to start vaping than to start smoking cigarettes, as it is initially more pleasant.

I think its simply, vapes are new and the health hazards are as yet unknown. Some of the posts above seem to hint at vapes actually being healthier or healthier in the case of cigarettes, which is not really the same thing.

More to the point is, if you ask me, is enjoying weed in moderation. If you are smoking it 6-7 times a day thats a lot of either tar from conventional old school smoking or god knows what is in the liquid THC, which as someone pointed out above is clearly still criminalized because its an extract, so isnt that the key issue? I guess that doesnt drum up enough hysteria and outrage as "Look they're pushing THC vapes on 8 year olds." Any which way you can to make a buck right? Money is God. right? And another case of the government feeling they need to mind people's children which is a gateway to taking kids away from parents and human trafficking them. So two can play the hysteria about children game, tho' not to say that governments in many so-called developed cpuntries don't essentially abduct children on various pretenses and oops send them to be minded by psychopaths who abuse and in some cases end up selling them.

I'm not holding my breath but it would be a breath of fresh smoke, if people making laws actually had any knowldge or contact with the reality they were warning against and pushing to have regulated.

Also, in the case of legal smoking devices, is it so hard to compel the manufacturers to drop cute cartoons and candy wrapping? Or is it actually you are just creating another pre-text to criminalize weed again and demonize it in people's minds? To set up the whole crocodile's tears thing of you need to put people in prison and ruin their lives for the victim-less crime of smoking a bit of weed to save the children. But what's the point of saving the children if you are just going to throw them away in the trash as adults and throw them in prisons with in-human conditions.

3 hours ago, candide said:

The drawback of vaping is that it is easier to start vaping than to start smoking cigarettes, as it is initially more pleasant.

For me it was an excellent tool to quit cigarettes.

21 minutes ago, Globalres said:

For me it was an excellent tool to quit cigarettes.

I don't reject what you wrote. For someone who's already a smoker it's certainly.y a better alternative and may also help quiting smoking.

My point is that it makes it easier for non-smokers to become nicotine addict, because it smells good, doesn't make cough, doesn't revulse stomach, has a nice design and colors, etc... There is no barrier to try it and adopt it.The first cigarette is usually a much worse experience and may repell some potential users.

14 hours ago, candide said:

I don't reject what you wrote. For someone who's already a smoker it's certainly.y a better alternative and may also help quiting smoking.

My point is that it makes it easier for non-smokers to become nicotine addict, because it smells good, doesn't make cough, doesn't revulse stomach, has a nice design and colors, etc... There is no barrier to try it and adopt it.The first cigarette is usually a much worse experience and may repell some potential users.

I hear you and understand and agree with your point. My further point is, since when has anything distracted teens from experimenting? I wish I never did experiment with cigarettes when I was a teen ager. Oh the awful feeling, even vomiting from the rush of nicotine, unfortunately made me even more determined to be “cool”. Thankfully that same experience didn’t go the same way with alcohol. Again, the vomiting from it. That, for some reason made me respectful about alcohol. Since then I never overdid the alcohol part. Wish I had heeded the lesson with cigarettes. After some 40 hrs or so with heavy smoking, it was reasonably easy to switch to vaping. All other cessation devices failed, I tried them all.

However, it is irresponsible to make vaping devices attractive to young people by design and flavours popular with teens. Regulation should see to that. But regulation cannot take place in a country where the black market rules galore due to what I consider an irresponsible decision to declare vaping illegal, but smoking is legal.

The bottom line comes to WHO decides which poison is acceptable to society, which then boils down to 💰.

21 hours ago, simon43 said:

Wasn't the idea of vapes to encourage cigarette smokers to reduce the danger (from the chemicals in cigarettes) to their health by switching to nicotine-only vapes? If so, that plan has spectacularly backfired in the UK, where many young people (probably non-smokers previously) have taken up vaping and are now addicted to nicotine...

for"the plan" to have "spectacularly" backfired there would need to be evidence of further and increased health issues as a result of its implementation, an increase in those using vapes, as a substitute for smoking tobacco ( as intended by the plan you refer to) is not indicative of its failure. although probably not Ideal.

16 minutes ago, Globalres said:

The bottom line comes to WHO decides which poison is acceptable to society, which then boils down to 💰.

WHO decides what poison is acceptable , is not actually a question , it is a statement

The same as the old trick question "what (watt) is a unit of power" ?

You are right,... like absolutely everything else, it's all down to money

23 minutes ago, Globalres said:

I wish I never did experiment with cigarettes when I was a teen ager. Oh the awful feeling, even vomiting

Similar to the effects experienced by many first time alcohol and indeed heroin users , who, likewise are not discouraged by a bit of nausea ,or by others telling them simply say "No" or by the illegality , or by the well known consequences of addiction,

In my very very humble and unqualified opinion, I would suggest a more realistic and non judgemental programme of education starting at five years of age might be a better way of getting the message across to "the young"

21 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Similar to the effects experienced by many first time alcohol and indeed heroin users , who, likewise are not discouraged by a bit of nausea ,or by others telling them simply say "No" or by the illegality , or by the well known consequences of addiction,

In my very very humble and unqualified opinion, I would suggest a more realistic and non judgemental programme of education starting at five years of age might be a better way of getting the message across to "the young"

I totally agree with you there.

I never dared dabble in stronger “stuff”, knowing my addiction to cigarettes, I knew what dangers could/would lie down the road. 😅