Thailand: Groups back moves to block smoking

[Yunla]

increase the warning pictures to 85 per cent of the packet surface from 55 per cent.

This is of course a very stupid idea. I doubt there is one smoker in the world above the age of ten, who doesn't know these things kill you. 99.9% of smokers are well aware that cigs are harmful to health, they continue to smoke because they enjoy it or are addicted or both. Fact is that it is easier to kick a heroin habit than it is to quit smoking cigarettes, so they could make the weeping-lungs photos cover the whole pack and come round to your house and boot you in the knees every time you light-up, you would still keep smoking until you are good and ready to quit because you want to stop. That ignores the other issue which is that it is your life and if you want to smoke that is your decision. Some data from the UK a few decades ago, showed that people who work at petrol stations and breathe diesel fumes, are more likely to get lung cancer than a heavy smoker is. There are lots of things that give lung cancer, including the spraying of insecticides which is of course unregulated in Thailand, I walk through big clouds of the stuff all the time and there is no warning signs or barriers or graphic pictures of tumors. Additionally, recent reports in Thailand shows that some of the fruit and veg on sale in supermarkets has several hundred times the "safe" level of pesticides in it, and also has pesticides that are banned in many nations but not here. So if you don't smoke, or quit smoking, and go to buy fruit and veg to start your healthy new life, you are ingesting some really dangerous chemicals which are cancer-causing. Would be nice to see action on these environmental poisons which people are exposed to by default, rather than poisons which they themselves choose to inhale.

[tuky]

I have no problems with smokers, used to smoke myself. More tolerance and consideration on both sides and all would be good.

Absolutely not...take their filthy habit away from everyone.

Smoking rooms everywhere would be good, with windows onto the streets for people to look at and point.

Schools could do field trips past them.

They should pay to enter also so no financial burden to the city.

It should be illegal to smoke in all public places. I get so pissed off with <deleted> blowing their evil death bringing chemicals in my face, I cough on them and tell them off telling them to smoke in their room and keep that crap to themselves. I hate having to run the gauntlet of idiots smoking outside on the way into buildings, this is wrong ! Bars and restaurants should have SEALED OFF smokjng areas IF THEY CHOOSE TO and shopping malls etc. could have designated smoking rooms again if they so choose. All public areas filled with many people a number of whom may not wish to get cancer should be off limits...

You two and your kind should try holding your breath more often and perhaps for longer periods.

Raising the cost of smokes might work in a country like Australia, but it wouldn't stand a chance throughout the Asian region.

ASIA'S MENACE

• 66 billion illegal cigarettes were sold across the region last year. The problem cost the 11 governments in the study a staggering US$3.4 billion (S$4.3 billion) in lost taxes.
• Brunei had the most serious problem with almost all tobacco 'substituted with illegal products'. Hong Kong came next, followed by Malaysia and Singapore.

One in four cigarettes smoked in Singapore last year was illegal, costing the Government millions of dollars in lost taxes and fuelling organised crime.

The Republic had the fourth-highest rate of illicit tobacco use in Asia, a regional study has shown.

Smokers here consumed 900 million contraband cigarettes, depriving the state of around $347 million in tax revenue.

Meanwhile, Interpol has warned that the illegal tobacco trade allows criminal gangs to flourish and could be used to fund terrorism.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/singapore-no-4-illicit-tobacco-use-1-4-cigarettes-here-illegal-2013092

[itchybum]

I have no problems with smokers, used to smoke myself. More tolerance and consideration on both sides and all would be good.

Absolutely not...take their filthy habit away from everyone.

Smoking rooms everywhere would be good, with windows onto the streets for people to look at and point.

Schools could do field trips past them.

They should pay to enter also so no financial burden to the city.

It should be illegal to smoke in all public places. I get so pissed off with <deleted> blowing their evil death bringing chemicals in my face, I cough on them and tell them off telling them to smoke in their room and keep that crap to themselves. I hate having to run the gauntlet of idiots smoking outside on the way into buildings, this is wrong ! Bars and restaurants should have SEALED OFF smokjng areas IF THEY CHOOSE TO and shopping malls etc. could have designated smoking rooms again if they so choose. All public areas filled with many people a number of whom may not wish to get cancer should be off limits...

You two and your kind should try holding your breath more often and perhaps for longer periods.

Raising the cost of smokes might work in a country like Australia, but it wouldn't stand a chance throughout the Asian region.

ASIA'S MENACE

• 66 billion illegal cigarettes were sold across the region last year. The problem cost the 11 governments in the study a staggering US$3.4 billion (S$4.3 billion) in lost taxes.
• Brunei had the most serious problem with almost all tobacco 'substituted with illegal products'. Hong Kong came next, followed by Malaysia and Singapore.

One in four cigarettes smoked in Singapore last year was illegal, costing the Government millions of dollars in lost taxes and fuelling organised crime.

The Republic had the fourth-highest rate of illicit tobacco use in Asia, a regional study has shown.

Smokers here consumed 900 million contraband cigarettes, depriving the state of around $347 million in tax revenue.

Meanwhile, Interpol has warned that the illegal tobacco trade allows criminal gangs to flourish and could be used to fund terrorism.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/singapore-no-4-illicit-tobacco-use-1-4-cigarettes-here-illegal-2013092

We might if the air was not so polluted from all the smokers.

[phitsanulokjohn]

Reminds me of the famous black trumpet player.....Nosmo King

[phitsanulokjohn]

I like these electronic fags and different flavours.I'm sure they come from China,but to me the Thai ones have proved unreliable.They all must be different grades, I personally order mine from back in the uk.If anyones interested here we are http://www.wisesmoker.co.uk/ a mate of mine put me onto this site,their a tad more expensive but hey you get what you pay for.

[h90]

Just ban the product.

Like the Americans did with Prohibition you mean?

Yeah, that really worked!

It also works very well for all the other illegal drugs.....at least for the dealer it works....

[hanno]

Of course electronic cigarettes are just as bad as the real thing......

Raise the price to USD 25.00 like in Oz and a lot less people will smoke.

You are completely wrong about that... they aren't even close to as bad as the real thing - on several fronts. Where do you get your information?

Here for example:

Spanish doctors say e-cigarettes no safer than the real thing

LIKE THIS ARTICLE13

By Anne Sewell

Oct 1, 2013 - 9 hours ago in Health

5 236 27 1 Google +3

+

Madrid - Spain's Association of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, a top Spanish medical association, is warning that the vapor of e-cigarettes has pretty much the same bad effects as regular cigarettes.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/359421#ixzz2gXavKxcO

[hanno]

Of course electronic cigarettes are just as bad as the real thing......

This is completely untrue, as even cursory use of a search engine would demonstrate.

See my post above. Seems like the smokers of electronic cigarette smokers do not get a "get out of jail free" card after all......

[tuky]

We might if the air was not so polluted from all the smokers.

I know where you are coming from though, I quit at the beginning of this year and I now really notice how much it does smell.

I think the problem is that smokers just don't understand how much it really does smell. Smokers can't smell smoke whilst they are smoking.

I am back on them again now, but having experienced the smell as a non smoker I am very mindful of where I smoke and who might be around.

[Thai at Heart]

Of course electronic cigarettes are just as bad as the real thing......

This is completely untrue, as even cursory use of a search engine would demonstrate.

Electronic cigarettes are essentially portable electric hookas. There is no fire, no ash, no smell to bother non-smokers. A cloud of water vapor is all that is exhaled, and it quickly dissipates. No fire hazard, because there's no fire.

There is no tar in the liquid utilized in e-cigarettes, nor any of the other 7,000 toxic chemicals added to regular cigarettes. These chemicals are designed to make regular cigarettes more addictive; as they aren't present in the liquid smoked in e-cigarettes, it's easier for someone smoking e-cigarettes to stop, if he so chooses. And the tar is what causes lung cancer (and other forms of cancer associated with smoking) - no tar = no cancer.

Personally, I've found that it's generally a good idea to have some actual knowledge of a given topic before opining about it in a public forum. But that's just me . . .

They don't add 7000 chemicals. Most are naturally occurring in tobacco. They do need a bit of research doing on the liquid, but it's hard to believe that ecigs many times safer than normal tobacco.

[Sayonarax]

To all the banning trolls. Why don't we just ban alcohol too..

Would you really want to be jailed for smoking tobacco cause a bunch of health nuts tell you so?

Its my body and ill do what the hell i want to it!

[bigbamboo]

It should be illegal to smoke in all public places. I get so pissed off with <deleted> blowing their evil death bringing chemicals in my face, I cough on them and tell them off telling them to smoke in their room and keep that crap to themselves. I hate having to run the gauntlet of idiots smoking outside on the way into buildings, this is wrong ! Bars and restaurants should have SEALED OFF smokjng areas IF THEY CHOOSE TO and shopping malls etc. could have designated smoking rooms again if they so choose. All public areas filled with many people a number of whom may not wish to get cancer should be off limits...

I agree there should be no smoking in public places....... it's incredible to think how it used to be allowed on public transport years ago.... but privately owned bars and restaurants should be free to state whether they will allow smoking or not. Then the customers (and the staff who work there) have a choice so if you don't like it stay away.

I was a light smoker once and I liked a cigar too but never touch tobacco any more. That shouldn't mean no one else should be allowed the privilege.

Edited October 2, 2013 by bigbamboo

[Globeman]

It should be illegal to smoke in all public places. I get so pissed off with <deleted> blowing their evil death bringing chemicals in my face, I cough on them and tell them off telling them to smoke in their room and keep that crap to themselves. I hate having to run the gauntlet of idiots smoking outside on the way into buildings, this is wrong ! Bars and restaurants should have SEALED OFF smokjng areas IF THEY CHOOSE TO and shopping malls etc. could have designated smoking rooms again if they so choose. All public areas filled with many people a number of whom may not wish to get cancer should be off limits...

I hate when I'm riding my bicycle and some car - possibly yours - blows smoke in my face.

[itchybum]

To all the banning trolls. Why don't we just ban alcohol too.. alt=clap2.gif>

Would you really want to be jailed for smoking tobacco cause a bunch of health nuts tell you so?

Its my body and ill do what the hell i want to it!

Yes you can, but not to mine so away you go with your typical smokers ignorant comment

[cup-O-coffee]

Excellent, hope one of the most disgusting habits on the planet, forced onto others by no choice of their own, but the selfish narrow mindedness of smokers, is banned somehow forever from public space....all of it...and indoors anywhere.

I take issue with the broad brush accusation of being selfish and narrow-minded. Additionally the accusation of "forcing" on others what you say is a disgusting habit really makes non-smokers (in your implication) to be mental weaklings without the courage to speak up at given points in time.

As I am certain you are not a mental weakling, and rather instead the kind of person who refuses to subject yourself to inhaling second-hand smoke, or positioning yourself in an environment where you inhale second-hand smoke, then your vote against what you describe as a "disgusting habit" holds about the same weight as protesting how people wipe their asses in the privacy of their own water closets (and that is indeed a disgusting habit); that is, unless you have a lewd desire to stick your nose there.

Why not instead complain about the poisonous substances which emit and belch forth from inanimate objects (of which I am certain you inhale almost daily and in great quantities) instead of the substances which people emit out of the holes in their bodies?

People in Hong Kong and China do not wear masks over their faces because of second-hand smoke. That is an issue much more worthy of the attention of courageous and noble do-gooders with the desire to get the public eye focused on legitimate and very real issues.

[hanno]

To all the banning trolls. Why don't we just ban alcohol too..

Would you really want to be jailed for smoking tobacco cause a bunch of health nuts tell you so?

Its my body and ill do what the hell i want to it!

I have no beef with that, I am not one of those radical ex-smokers. At the same time, non-smokers should not be forced to inhale second-hand smoke. Here in Cambodia, smoking is still allowed pretty much everywhere and it does bother me when I have a nice meal and I am surrounded by smokers. It bugged me when I WAS still smoking....

[itchybum]

Excellent, hope one of the most disgusting habits on the planet, forced onto others by no choice of their own, but the selfish narrow mindedness of smokers, is banned somehow forever from public space....all of it...and indoors anywhere.

I take issue with the broad brush accusation of being selfish and narrow-minded. Additionally the accusation of "forcing" on others what you say is a disgusting habit really makes non-smokers (in your implication) to be mental weaklings without the courage to speak up at given points in time.

As I am certain you are not a mental weakling, and rather instead the kind of person who refuses to subject yourself to inhaling second-hand smoke, or positioning yourself in an environment where you inhale second-hand smoke, then your vote against what you describe as a "disgusting habit" holds about the same weight as protesting how people wipe their asses in the privacy of their own water closets (and that is indeed a disgusting habit); that is, unless you have a lewd desire to stick your nose there.

Why not instead complain about the poisonous substances which emit and belch forth from inanimate objects (of which I am certain you inhale almost daily and in great quantities) instead of the substances which people emit out of the holes in their bodies?

People in Hong Kong and China do not wear masks over their faces because of second-hand smoke. That is an issue much more worthy of the attention of courageous and noble do-gooders with the desire to get the public eye focused on legitimate and very real issues.

Here we go again....

Let me run by you a typical smokers interaction which I had recently and have had a few variations of same same but different many times.....we as a family, sitting at our dinner table near the open window and a smoker walks outside to smoke, nice guy, stands in front of the window and smoke blows in directly on us. He does the same over several fags, cigarette type, and when I have words to him, he basically says 'what can I do, not allowed to smoke inside'....he shrugs his shoulders and walks back inside to his smoke free table.

[barrybankruad]

Being a cripple I don't get out and about as much as I would like. Once a week I go to a local bar and have a few beers with a bunch of local farangs. At least 50% of them smoke. It wouldn't be a convivial evening if the smokers were separated from those that don't. I therefore put up with the second hand smoke, I don't like it but I suppose a couple of hours a week doesn't do me all that much harm. I do have, however have to also submit to a complete change of clothes when I get home because my wife objects to the smoke residue smell.

Bring on th "E" cigarettes I say if I can sit next to one of my smoker friends and have good conversation without his cigarette smoke wafting into my space.

[DocN]

Excellent, hope one of the most disgusting habits on the planet, forced onto others by no choice of their own, but the selfish narrow mindedness of smokers, is banned somehow forever from public space....all of it...and indoors anywhere.

I take issue with the broad brush accusation of being selfish and narrow-minded. Additionally the accusation of "forcing" on others what you say is a disgusting habit really makes non-smokers (in your implication) to be mental weaklings without the courage to speak up at given points in time.

As I am certain you are not a mental weakling, and rather instead the kind of person who refuses to subject yourself to inhaling second-hand smoke, or positioning yourself in an environment where you inhale second-hand smoke, then your vote against what you describe as a "disgusting habit" holds about the same weight as protesting how people wipe their asses in the privacy of their own water closets (and that is indeed a disgusting habit); that is, unless you have a lewd desire to stick your nose there.

Why not instead complain about the poisonous substances which emit and belch forth from inanimate objects (of which I am certain you inhale almost daily and in great quantities) instead of the substances which people emit out of the holes in their bodies?

People in Hong Kong and China do not wear masks over their faces because of second-hand smoke. That is an issue much more worthy of the attention of courageous and noble do-gooders with the desire to get the public eye focused on legitimate and very real issues.

Here we go again....

Let me run by you a typical smokers interaction which I had recently and have had a few variations of same same but different many times.....we as a family, sitting at our dinner table near the open window and a smoker walks outside to smoke, nice guy, stands in front of the window and smoke blows in directly on us. He does the same over several fags, cigarette type, and when I have words to him, he basically says 'what can I do, not allowed to smoke inside'....he shrugs his shoulders and walks back inside to his smoke free table.

So...basically everybody has to bow to your needs and wishes?

Inside the restaurant is smoke free, so the guy -following rules forced onto him by the likes of...you, basically- goes outside (which is nice in October in Thailand...not so nice in October in Germany f.e.), but since you want to sit at an open window, he even has to be removed from that window?!

You want to enjoy a smoke-free atmosphere (granted as inside no smoking allowed) and he wants to enjoy a smoke (granted...as long as you are not even troubled by that!?)...

I am a non- smoker (except when I am really...really drunk) and I don't give a sh1t!

I am always wondering, why adult human beings do not find possibilities to deal with stuff like adult human beings?!

No, we need regulations for everything, because there is always one douche, who needs an extra- treatment!

No smoking in public places?

Like in "outside, where the wind is blowing"?

Give me a (cigarette) break!

Edited October 2, 2013 by DocN

[cup-O-coffee]

Excellent, hope one of the most disgusting habits on the planet, forced onto others by no choice of their own, but the selfish narrow mindedness of smokers, is banned somehow forever from public space....all of it...and indoors anywhere.

I take issue with the broad brush accusation of being selfish and narrow-minded. Additionally the accusation of "forcing" on others what you say is a disgusting habit really makes non-smokers (in your implication) to be mental weaklings without the courage to speak up at given points in time.

As I am certain you are not a mental weakling, and rather instead the kind of person who refuses to subject yourself to inhaling second-hand smoke, or positioning yourself in an environment where you inhale second-hand smoke, then your vote against what you describe as a "disgusting habit" holds about the same weight as protesting how people wipe their asses in the privacy of their own water closets (and that is indeed a disgusting habit); that is, unless you have a lewd desire to stick your nose there.

Why not instead complain about the poisonous substances which emit and belch forth from inanimate objects (of which I am certain you inhale almost daily and in great quantities) instead of the substances which people emit out of the holes in their bodies?

People in Hong Kong and China do not wear masks over their faces because of second-hand smoke. That is an issue much more worthy of the attention of courageous and noble do-gooders with the desire to get the public eye focused on legitimate and very real issues.

Here we go again....

Let me run by you a typical smokers interaction which I had recently and have had a few variations of same same but different many times.....we as a family, sitting at our dinner table near the open window and a smoker walks outside to smoke, nice guy, stands in front of the window and smoke blows in directly on us. He does the same over several fags, cigarette type, and when I have words to him, he basically says 'what can I do, not allowed to smoke inside'....he shrugs his shoulders and walks back inside to his smoke free table.

I got the point where you spoke up after several fags were smoked, and he went inside after you spoke up without lighting up another.

Smokers, for the most part, aren't <deleted>, and most are the of the type you describe (nice guys). They understand their habit can be annoying, and it is a human trait to sometimes overlook the consequences which our habits subject others to. We appreciate, for the most part. when people speak up, and remind us, and we are happy to oblige elsewhere, or snuff it out and go back to what we were doing.

I think it makes you unconfortable to speak up to a stranger to accomodate a legitimate request, and expecially when a child is present. If you are concerned about an <deleted> giving you trouble, then I submit it has nothing to do with smoking, and more instead of <deleted>, who happen to be more harmful to your health than nice guys smoking cigarettes.

That the wind happened to blow it in your direction, or that you did not have a fan blowing it away from you are other factors that must be considered (as compared to someone who leaves their car or diesel running near you, and speaking up).

I think if people were trained at an early age to have a little moxy and speak up politely about things, then we would have far fewer "idiot" laws, "idiot" taxation and groups of self-appointed do-gooders with no testicles.

Nice guys will move on if you pipe up. <deleted>...? It doesn't matter what the issue is over. They're <deleted>, and you either put 'em down, put up with it, or move on.

[doremifasol]

I quit smoking last week by reading a book.

I know that it sounds crazy but it is the truth.

I am on my 5th day and nicotine free.

Didn't use patches or e-cigarettes or gums. nothing at all.

After 30+ years of addiction I quit cold turkey.

I am so very grateful to Allen Carr , whose method to stop smoking

has helped millions of smokers quit smoking and find freedom from cigarettes.

His book changed my life 'cause I just KNOW that I won't smoke a fag ever again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWnuTnIxfi0

If you wish to quit please read this book, it is free to download and in pdf format:

EASY WAY TO STOP SMOKING by Allen Carr

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

Nicotine addiction is a terrible, terrible thing.

After you quit please share this link, many people out there need help.

Thanks!

[HerbalEd]

Electronic cigarettes are the future. If the governmet unban the sale of liquid nicotine in Thailand it will really take off and potentially replace the cigarette industry.

It's already happening elsewhere. Only recently (last day or two) a huge American tobacco company Lorillard purchased a British e-cigarette company for $49 Million with further large cash payments in a few years time should certain sales targets be met. They are not the first traditional tobacco company to buy up smaller but rapidly growing electronic cigarette manufacturers.

Why ? They know the writing is on the wall and an unstoppable disruption is in motion. It won't be long before we see the first country completely ban cigarettes in favour of e-cigarettes. That first country could well be Australia but only time will tell.

The reason : cigarettes are dying out due to new technology which is of course banned on Thailand.

My prediction is that within the next 5 years or so nearly every smoker will be using electronic cigarettes. People are changing over at an exopnential rate.

And lots of school kids who didn't smoke cigarettes before are starting to use e-cigarettes because it the cool thing to do now.

[robertson468]

I know of two Thais that have stopped smoking recently as they can't afford it. That seems to be the only effective way of dealing with smoking, taxation.

The shock of the photos seems to wear off. Having said that, I understand how difficult it is to quit, whatever can be done to stop kids from starting in the first place has to be encouraged.

Totally agree, tax them as much as possible. Also it is time Thailand did something about the rogue burning of rubbish, which not only has as bad, if not worse adverse carcinogenic effect on people, but is one of the main factors in polluting the whole atmosphere - bad, bad, bad

[HerbalEd]

The following does not apply to all smokers ... just the vast majority of them. If you are indeed an ethical smoker who respects the rights of non-smokers, you are not included in the following:

For those pro-smoking advocates here whining about the restrictions on smoking in public places, I have this to say: You smokers bought it upon yourself. For many, many decades you had no sensitivity or respect for the non-smokers around you ... or even your own children. You still litter the earth will the billions of butts you throw on the ground and streets ... including still-lit ones on the beach so others can step on them barefoot and get a very painful burn. You sneered and kept smoking when others asked you to not do it near them. And when the non-smoking laws started to appear, you had even more bad attitude and basically said "f*** off." Even today, right here in Thailand it is against the law to smoke in bars and restaurants but most of you continue to smoke.

Should you be allowed to smoke in designated places or your own home (without your kids present). Yes, I reluctantly say you should. But even then many of you still cheat, so even more pressure must be bought to bear.

And as to your misassumption that non-smokers are exaggerating their negative reactions to your smoke ... you still don't get it. I don't have it out for individual smokers ... I just don't want your smoke in my airspace. What is it that you still can't understand about that??? Remember the first time you smoked? The coughing, the throat and eye irritation, and even the dizziness? Yeah, but that went away because you kept smoking and became de-sensitived to it. Well non-smokers never de-sensitived like you .. and multiply that multiple times in a bar where many smokers are puffing away. And, BTW, people who don't like your smoke are not weaklings who can't take it like the manly men you think you are.

And as to smoking "because I enjoy it" goes. It's really that you don't enjoy the withdrawal of nicotine addiction and when you smoke it gives the allusion of feeling good. Like beating your head against a wall .... it feels so good when you stop.

So, since after all these many decades you still can't play nice in civil society, the non-smokers who hate your smoke, and having their clothes and hair smell of it, are finally having their way. And, yes, some are going too far, because perhaps they're taking a bit of revenge after years of suffering your smoke. Had you not resisted so much the pendulum would not have to swing so far in the opposite direction to teach you guys some manners. Like I said in the beginning, you only have yourselves to blame.

Rant over ... and I feel so much better now. 555

Edited October 2, 2013 by metisdead

[Thai at Heart]

I quit smoking last week by reading a book.

I know that it sounds crazy but it is the truth.

I am on my 5th day and nicotine free.

Didn't use patches or e-cigarettes or gums. nothing at all.

After 30+ years of addiction I quit cold turkey.

I am so very grateful to Allen Carr , whose method to stop smoking

has helped millions of smokers quit smoking and find freedom from cigarettes.

His book changed my life 'cause I just KNOW that I won't smoke a fag ever again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWnuTnIxfi0

If you wish to quit please read this book, it is free to download and in pdf format:

EASY WAY TO STOP SMOKING by Allen Carr

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

Nicotine addiction is a terrible, terrible thing.

After you quit please share this link, many people out there need help.

Thanks!

Indeed Alan Carr has done more for people stopping smoking than ANY warning, picture, nicorette patch or other stop smoking plan combined. It is a masterpiece of writing.

[lemoncake]

Of course electronic cigarettes are just as bad as the real thing......

Raise the price to USD 25.00 like in Oz and a lot less people will smoke.

$25??? where do you shop? 5 star hotels? price in stores around $16-$17.

Government makes money from both ends, it gets huge taxes from the manufacture's and just as much from the consumers.

If all people were to stop smoking, you might be charged fresh air tax, as nothing else will come even close to substituting the taxes from smoke makers and smoke consumers

[Thai at Heart]

Electronic cigarettes are the future. If the governmet unban the sale of liquid nicotine in Thailand it will really take off and potentially replace the cigarette industry.

It's already happening elsewhere. Only recently (last day or two) a huge American tobacco company Lorillard purchased a British e-cigarette company for $49 Million with further large cash payments in a few years time should certain sales targets be met. They are not the first traditional tobacco company to buy up smaller but rapidly growing electronic cigarette manufacturers.

Why ? They know the writing is on the wall and an unstoppable disruption is in motion. It won't be long before we see the first country completely ban cigarettes in favour of e-cigarettes. That first country could well be Australia but only time will tell.

The reason : cigarettes are dying out due to new technology which is of course banned on Thailand.

My prediction is that within the next 5 years or so nearly every smoker will be using electronic cigarettes. People are changing over at an exopnential rate.

And lots of school kids who didn't smoke cigarettes before are starting to use e-cigarettes because it the cool thing to do now.

Where are these stories? In all honesty, I think e-cigarettes may take over the traditional tobacco industry, but are they cool? Hardly.

If you wanna be cool, smoke, if you wanna be cool, don't smoke.

Half smoking seems all a bit of a waste of time to me.

[HerbalEd]

Electronic cigarettes are the future. If the governmet unban the sale of liquid nicotine in Thailand it will really take off and potentially replace the cigarette industry.

It's already happening elsewhere. Only recently (last day or two) a huge American tobacco company Lorillard purchased a British e-cigarette company for $49 Million with further large cash payments in a few years time should certain sales targets be met. They are not the first traditional tobacco company to buy up smaller but rapidly growing electronic cigarette manufacturers.

Why ? They know the writing is on the wall and an unstoppable disruption is in motion. It won't be long before we see the first country completely ban cigarettes in favour of e-cigarettes. That first country could well be Australia but only time will tell.

The reason : cigarettes are dying out due to new technology which is of course banned on Thailand.

My prediction is that within the next 5 years or so nearly every smoker will be using electronic cigarettes. People are changing over at an exopnential rate.

And lots of school kids who didn't smoke cigarettes before are starting to use e-cigarettes because it the cool thing to do now.

Where are these stories? In all honesty, I think e-cigarettes may take over the traditional tobacco industry, but are they cool? Hardly.

If you wanna be cool, smoke, if you wanna be cool, don't smoke.

Half smoking seems all a bit of a waste of time to me.

But you are not a pubescent school kid ... and to them, you and I will never be cool.

Edited October 2, 2013 by HerbalEd

[ukrules]

Of course electronic cigarettes are just as bad as the real thing......

Raise the price to USD 25.00 like in Oz and a lot less people will smoke.

You are completely wrong about that... they aren't even close to as bad as the real thing - on several fronts. Where do you get your information?

Here for example:

Spanish doctors say e-cigarettes no safer than the real thing

LIKE THIS ARTICLE13

By Anne Sewell

Oct 1, 2013 - 9 hours ago in Health

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Madrid - Spain's Association of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, a top Spanish medical association, is warning that the vapor of e-cigarettes has pretty much the same bad effects as regular cigarettes.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/359421#ixzz2gXavKxcO

This doctor is an idiot. In the future she will be compared to the Doctors from decades ago who said smoking regular cigarettes is good for your health.

[khunken]

First a disclosure - I smoke.

The various rants about smoking in bars & restaurants here in Thailand are pointed in the wrong direction. It is against the law & if the owner/manager is allowing it inside, the police are the ones to (supposedly) apply the law.

Adding to the 'scary' pictures on fag packets is nothing but a facade to get at the manufacturers & will have little or no effect on smokers, except to make it more difficult to identify a preferred brand. The anti-smoking crowd like to get publicity for their efforts but don't tackle the real problems.

First, in order to prevent under-aged youths from starting or persisting, the direct selling to them needs to be stopped. Further, the selling of plastic bags of 3 cigs is probably the worst possible contribution to starters. Both are illegal but need a police force that enforces the law, something sadly lacking here.

The second way is to increase the price as locally made cigarettes are cheap here. Don't overdo it or smuggling will mushroom from a relatively minor activity (with cigs) now.