No smoking in public places campaign: Bangkok

[webfact]

No smoking in public places campaign
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, July 7 -- More than 600 bicyclists and walkathon participants travelled around central Bangkok Sunday distributing promotional stickers to passersby, urging them to be aware of the ‘No Smoking’ in public places regulations, as smoking endangers the health of non-smokers.

Many began on bicycles while many others walked from Vachirabenjatas Park to the Victory Monument, ending their campaign at National Stadium. They distributed stickers to passersby as well as to motorists and shopkeepers.

The campaign was launched by Dr Bundit Sornpaisarn, director of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation's Bureau of Major Health Risk Factors Control.

The campaign was organised after it was found that there are about 80 per cent of smokers in the total population in Thailand, and that many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places.

Significant numbers of smokers break the law inside fresh markets, and many others abuse the rule in public parks.

The maximum fine imposed on smokers in public places is Bt2,000, but it rises to Bt5,000 for those caught on smoking on public buses and inside airports.

Despite the rules and the hefty fines, violations continue. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-07-07

[Mango Bob]

Smoking should be illegal everywhere. Get rid of the cancer sticks.

[jpeg]

Well, despite my apprehension that they will able to actually enforce this, I wish them luck. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind some selfish bastard trailing his second hand cig smoke on a crowded pavement

[Robby nz]

The campaign was organised after it was found that there are about 80 per cent of smokers in the total population in Thailand

I cant believe that one, no way, 8% would be closer to the mark.

And that's 8% to many.

[Suzy]

Nothing said about the bus drivers who smoke whilst driving. I see them everyday and have never heard any passenger complaints.

[kmj]

Well, despite my apprehension that they will able to actually enforce this, I wish them luck. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind some selfish bastard trailing his second hand cig smoke on a crowded pavement

I don't think the law stops you smoking while walking down the street

[dddave]

Well, despite my apprehension that they will able to actually enforce this, I wish them luck. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind some selfish bastard trailing his second hand cig smoke on a crowded pavement

I don't think the law stops you smoking while walking down the street

I wonder?

If you are walking past a public park such as Benjasri next to Emporium, is the sidewalk considered to be part of the park?

Since smoking is prohibited in public parks, I assume a smoker could be nabbed.

[jaltsc]

"...many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places."

Gee....Could that have anything to do with the fact that the ban on smoking is not enforced? I see policemen, monks and military personnel, together, smoking at bus stations right under the "No Smoking/2,000 baht fine" sign. The town near which I live has signs and banners stating "No smoking and No drinking of alcohol on the streets". Yet at least one quarter of the people, all farangs, are smoking and drinking. Just about every restaurant has people smoking in them, or if they don't smoke inside, where the sign is, they are smoking by the entrance, where everyone entering has to suck up the poison air, and the smoke drifts inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, in the small village where I live, the monks from the local wat started a no smoking campaign, putting up signs entering the village and flags in front of every house, stating no smoking on the streets. This has worked beautifully. Since this campaign started, I have not observed one person smoking on the streets or in any of the small restaurants. I feel fortunate to live in a village where the monks at the wat still practice traditional Buddhism and not the "reformed Thai style" of Buddhism. It is amazing what can be accomplished when those who are supposed to be the examples of morality take their responsibility seriously.Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception and not the rule in a world, both east and west, where profits are put above all else.

Edited July 7, 2014 by jaltsc

[h90]

Some people have too much time.....Worry if the neighbor smokes and maybe get cancer 30 years later

[Richan]

It's a real pleasure to follow this thread. All the antismoking fascists are working very hard! You need to be a vegetarian and have a dog named "Blondi" to be a person acceptable to the TV nonsmokers. Hard to believe!

[h90]

Some people have too much time.....Worry if the neighbor smokes and maybe get cancer 30 years later

It's the olde puritan genes...they can't stand the fact that someone may be happy smoking.

Yes people who stopped smoking and are frustrated about it. So they don't want that someone else can do what they don't allow themself.

Former smoker are angry with smoker.

Former fat people are angry when they see someone enjoy their food.

ex alcoholics are angry that someone has a good time in the bar.

etc etc

[TheSiemReaper]

Yeah, the problem in Bangkok is the smoke from cigarettes, it has nothing to do with the industrial and automobile pollution - oh no, it couldn't be. I'd rather sit in a room with a hundred smokers than breathe the fumes from a million cars moving at 1/4 mph down Sukhumvit. Once more the no-smoking brigade proves that they have no sensible priorities but to stamp on people who do something they don't approve of. I have some bad news for non-smokers, 100% of you will die.

[Loles]

Casablanca movie:

" This is a begin of beautiful ... DREAM"

[Mr Tom]

Do you really think these people have other peoples health in mind? I don't.

[ratcatcher]

Casablanca movie:

" This is a begin of beautiful ... DREAM"

" Loles, I think this is the beginning of beautiful ... DREAM" FRIENDSHIP."

Here's looking at you kid...

Edited July 7, 2014 by ratcatcher

[ratcatcher]

This campaign is going to have a severe effect on the daily income of the street cigarette control police. I hope the Foundation has considered this fact.

[chrisinth]

"The campaign was organised after it was found that there are about 80 per cent of smokers in the total population in Thailand"

If the above statement is true, their anti-smoking campaigns don't seem to working that well. Why don't they canvas the government (?) and make it illegal outright, as it should be, if all the facts about it being the cause of all the diseases it is claimed to be responsible for are true?

Or would the tax generated with the sales be stronger than the welfare and health of the population?

Anyway, we know this isn't going to happen.

At least the anti smoking people are sticking with the right ratios for a democratic country, the minority making decisions for the majority.

[Tyvsa Sksass]

Well, despite my apprehension that they will able to actually enforce this, I wish them luck. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind some selfish bastard trailing his second hand cig smoke on a crowded pavement

I don't think the law stops you smoking while walking down the street

You're right, but common courtesy should dictate that if you do you should ensure you don't blow it directly into the face of following pedestrians who have as much right to expect to not have smoke in their faces as selfish bastards have to smoke the bloody things.

[Tyvsa Sksass]

Yeah, the problem in Bangkok is the smoke from cigarettes, it has nothing to do with the industrial and automobile pollution - oh no, it couldn't be. I'd rather sit in a room with a hundred smokers than breathe the fumes from a million moving at 1/4 mph down Sukhumvit. Once more the no-smoking brigade provcars es that they have no sensible priorities but to stamp on people who do something they don't approve of. I have some bad news for non-smokers, 100% of you will die.

If you'd really rather sit in a room with a hundred smokers than breathe the fumes from cars (there are never a million on Sukhumvit in your immediate area) you obviously don't know anything about the content of cigarette smoke compared with modern vehicle emissions.

Yes, we all will die but some of us will die in a lot less pain and discomfort than others, which, of course, is your choice.

[TheSiemReaper]

Yeah, the problem in Bangkok is the smoke from cigarettes, it has nothing to do with the industrial and automobile pollution - oh no, it couldn't be. I'd rather sit in a room with a hundred smokers than breathe the fumes from a million moving at 1/4 mph down Sukhumvit. Once more the no-smoking brigade provcars es that they have no sensible priorities but to stamp on people who do something they don't approve of. I have some bad news for non-smokers, 100% of you will die.

If you'd really rather sit in a room with a hundred smokers than breathe the fumes from cars (there are never a million on Sukhumvit in your immediate area) you obviously don't know anything about the content of cigarette smoke compared with modern vehicle emissions.

Yes, we all will die but some of us will die in a lot less pain and discomfort than others, which, of course, is your choice.

Keep deluding yourself; what do you think it is that non-smokers die of exactly? Same as everyone else it's cancer, heart attacks, strokes, etc. doesn't matter that you didn't smoke - liver cancer or skin cancer is just as agonizing a death as lung cancer.

[1plumber]

"The campaign was organised after it was found that there are about 80 per cent of smokers in the total population in Thailand"

If the above statement is true, their anti-smoking campaigns don't seem to working that well. Why don't they canvas the government (?) and make it illegal outright, as it should be, if all the facts about it being the cause of all the diseases it is claimed to be responsible for are true?

Or would the tax generated with the sales be stronger than the welfare and health of the population?

Anyway, we know this isn't going to happen.

At least the anti smoking people are sticking with the right ratios for a democratic country, the minority making decisions for the majority.

People die in cars. Should the govt outlaw them as well. My God the socialists in this country are the ones killing me.

[Thai at Heart]

I think this whole malarky is becoming a simple cover for anyone daring to wonder about the general air quality in inner cities in Thailand. Strewth, a bit of the upcountry town where I lived was as polluted as parts of Bangkok.

Screaming about 2nd hand smoking in the open air in Bangkok whilst there is a traffic jam of buses, 10 year old pick ups and mopeds is rather missing the point don't you think?

[WitawatWatawit]

Some people have too much time.....Worry if the neighbor smokes and maybe get cancer 30 years later

It's the olde puritan genes...they can't stand the fact that someone may be happy smoking.

Yes people who stopped smoking and are frustrated about it. So they don't want that someone else can do what they don't allow themself.

Former smoker are angry with smoker.

Former fat people are angry when they see someone enjoy their food.

ex alcoholics are angry that someone has a good time in the bar.

etc etc

I stand outside Dream Teen with a scowl on my face.

[keestha]

I fully trust all the non smokers never drive a car or a motorcycle when not strictly necessary, air purity being so high on their priority list.

[lumply]

Of course we will all die...eventually. That's not the point. Smokers are more likely to have a poorer quality of life towards the end. We've all heard about someone's Granny who smoked like a chimney all her life then died of an apparent non smoking related cause. But what should be considered is that she had lost her sense of taste, had diseased gums and was unable to climb the stairs because of hypoxia etc.etc. Not very nice.

[lostsoul49]

"...many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places."

Gee....Could that have anything to do with the fact that the ban on smoking is not enforced? I see policemen, monks and military personnel, together, smoking at bus stations right under the "No Smoking/2,000 baht fine" sign. The town near which I live has signs and banners stating "No smoking and No drinking of alcohol on the streets". Yet at least one quarter of the people, all farangs, are smoking and drinking. Just about every restaurant has people smoking in them, or if they don't smoke inside, where the sign is, they are smoking by the entrance, where everyone entering has to suck up the poison air, and the smoke drifts inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, in the small village where I live, the monks from the local wat started a no smoking campaign, putting up signs entering the village and flags in front of every house, stating no smoking on the streets. This has worked beautifully. Since this campaign started, I have not observed one person smoking on the streets or in any of the small restaurants. I feel fortunate to live in a village where the monks at the wat still practice traditional Buddhism and not the "reformed Thai style" of Buddhism. It is amazing what can be accomplished when those who are supposed to be the examples of morality take their responsibility seriously.Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception and not the rule in a world, both east and west, where profits are put above all else.

I don't think monks going around telling people not to smoke in the village as being a 'traditional Buddhist practices' as a matter of fact I would say that trying to police what people do legally (and smoking on the street is legal) is anything to do with Buudha's teachings.

This thread is just another major whinging spot for those who choose not to smoke.

[bangrak]

"...many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places."

Gee....Could that have anything to do with the fact that the ban on smoking is not enforced? I see policemen, monks and military personnel, together, smoking at bus stations right under the "No Smoking/2,000 baht fine" sign. The town near which I live has signs and banners stating "No smoking and No drinking of alcohol on the streets". Yet at least one quarter of the people, all farangs, are smoking and drinking. Just about every restaurant has people smoking in them, or if they don't smoke inside, where the sign is, they are smoking by the entrance, where everyone entering has to suck up the poison air, and the smoke drifts inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, in the small village where I live, the monks from the local wat started a no smoking campaign, putting up signs entering the village and flags in front of every house, stating no smoking on the streets. This has worked beautifully. Since this campaign started, I have not observed one person smoking on the streets or in any of the small restaurants. I feel fortunate to live in a village where the monks at the wat still practice traditional Buddhism and not the "reformed Thai style" of Buddhism. It is amazing what can be accomplished when those who are supposed to be the examples of morality take their responsibility seriously.Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception and not the rule in a world, both east and west, where profits are put above all else.

After the 'red villages', the no-smokers villages, using 'social pressure' from some integrist monk to coerce the guy who wants to peacefully, and politely, smoke his fag, without creating any REAL disturbance for non-smokers? Do they still sell beer in your village or have the windows of the shops been smashed? It's the fashion of this time, (small) minorities of extremists and integrists (mis-)using medias and social channels to force the majority to have things their way... Despicable IMO. Why not an underground terrorist group attacking people wearing brown shoes, or blue shirts, driving a red bike maybe, or a white car? Enough of the rabid s..t, please, better educate the masses to RESPECT every- and anyone's INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY at all times! Why wouldn't you print banners and T-shirts with on one side 'your liberty stops where mine begins' and on the other side 'my liberty stops where yours begin'? Bye ayattolah 'jaltsc'!

[jaltsc]

"...many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places."

Gee....Could that have anything to do with the fact that the ban on smoking is not enforced? I see policemen, monks and military personnel, together, smoking at bus stations right under the "No Smoking/2,000 baht fine" sign. The town near which I live has signs and banners stating "No smoking and No drinking of alcohol on the streets". Yet at least one quarter of the people, all farangs, are smoking and drinking. Just about every restaurant has people smoking in them, or if they don't smoke inside, where the sign is, they are smoking by the entrance, where everyone entering has to suck up the poison air, and the smoke drifts inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, in the small village where I live, the monks from the local wat started a no smoking campaign, putting up signs entering the village and flags in front of every house, stating no smoking on the streets. This has worked beautifully. Since this campaign started, I have not observed one person smoking on the streets or in any of the small restaurants. I feel fortunate to live in a village where the monks at the wat still practice traditional Buddhism and not the "reformed Thai style" of Buddhism. It is amazing what can be accomplished when those who are supposed to be the examples of morality take their responsibility seriously.Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception and not the rule in a world, both east and west, where profits are put above all else.

I don't think monks going around telling people not to smoke in the village as being a 'traditional Buddhist practices' as a matter of fact I would say that trying to police what people do legally (and smoking on the street is legal) is anything to do with Buudha's teachings.

This thread is just another major whinging spot for those who choose not to smoke.

I believe that the Buddha preached not to hurt others, and second hand smoke kills others. War is legal, does that make it a Buddhist practice? Think before you speak, unless that is your level of thinking.

[rebeli]

"...many smokers ignore the prohibitions against smoking in public places."

Gee....Could that have anything to do with the fact that the ban on smoking is not enforced? I see policemen, monks and military personnel, together, smoking at bus stations right under the "No Smoking/2,000 baht fine" sign. The town near which I live has signs and banners stating "No smoking and No drinking of alcohol on the streets". Yet at least one quarter of the people, all farangs, are smoking and drinking. Just about every restaurant has people smoking in them, or if they don't smoke inside, where the sign is, they are smoking by the entrance, where everyone entering has to suck up the poison air, and the smoke drifts inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, in the small village where I live, the monks from the local wat started a no smoking campaign, putting up signs entering the village and flags in front of every house, stating no smoking on the streets. This has worked beautifully. Since this campaign started, I have not observed one person smoking on the streets or in any of the small restaurants. I feel fortunate to live in a village where the monks at the wat still practice traditional Buddhism and not the "reformed Thai style" of Buddhism. It is amazing what can be accomplished when those who are supposed to be the examples of morality take their responsibility seriously.Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception and not the rule in a world, both east and west, where profits are put above all else.

I don't think monks going around telling people not to smoke in the village as being a 'traditional Buddhist practices' as a matter of fact I would say that trying to police what people do legally (and smoking on the street is legal) is anything to do with Buudha's teachings.

This thread is just another major whinging spot for those who choose not to smoke.

I believe that the Buddha preached not to hurt others, and second hand smoke kills others. War is legal, does that make it a Buddhist practice? Think before you speak, unless that is your level of thinking.

Can you please also sell your car, motorbike and any other air polluting machinery and take a bycicle.

Its silly and naief only complaining about second hand smoke.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[newermonkey]

The goverment should "dictate' that smoking should be made ilegal, that would solve the stinking problem. or do they enjoy the tax revenue too much?