Shisha cafes must stop selling shisha, Thai officials warn of crackdown

[louse1953]

In Thailand on legal tobacco, taxation and graphic health warning messages are already in effect. Why should shisha be exempt from the same treatment (if it was legal)? Especially as we have seen evidence here there is massive ignorance out there about the relative safety of shisha compared to other tobacoo delivery systems?

They want to BAN it in shops and BAN sales, but don't want to ban cigarettes. They are short sided, hypocritical and have few good ideas, seems to be the consensus. This guy Somchai is useless, doing stuff like this to pose as a man doing something worthwhile. What a sad state of priorities in a developing country.

Protecting the youth from the evils of smoking would be high on my priority list.

[louse1953]

It's pointless <deleted> moves like this that get people clammering for the "good old days" of Yingluck's government.

I don't see the junta staying in power for a whole lot longer either.

5555,the Army will stay as long as they want.Who is going to have a coup against them.I hope they stay for 5 years to make sure certain families are down and out.

[ttthailand]

I like to smoke cigars sometimes and it is so funny that other smokers look at me as if to say you can't smoke that here.... They don't like the smell. Hahaha....

[DrTuner]

Retarded ideas once again from Somkwai. The first ban that should start is banning this guy from being head of Excise. This is a cultural item. Hope the shops that WERE in business find another country to do business that lrespects them more, and where their investment isn't banned or swindled by the likes of Thai's Excise morons.

It has no culture here.

Smoked in the South it's called Malaku, I've been told.

[Thai at Heart]

You want to smoke?

Fine. Go ahead.

Just don't do it around those of us who find it a foul habit.

Indeed, the last thing I want to do is to inlfict my pleasures on someone who doesn't like them. However, the anti-smoking lobby finds it quite acceptable to inflict their displeasures on me by removing my choice to enjoy sitting in a bar with a beer and a cigarette. It would have been so easy to mandate separate, well signed bars where smoking is or isn't permitted. Or separate areas, with good ventilation. But of course, it never was anything to do with health. It was always about social engineering. And increased profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

I do not have a problem with people smoking, just as long as

1. I do not have to inhale the smoke, which gives me asthma.

Oddly enough, smoking is supposed to be protective against asthma, although I haven't done much research on it.

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/2596/want_to_cure_your_asthma_start_smoking

2. I do not have to inhale the stench that the hookahs emit.

Hookahs do not emit a stench, they give off an aroma. Whether you like the aroma or not is purely subjective.

3. I do not have to pay for their healthcare.

According the the (doubtless inflated) figures from the NHS in the UK, 'smoking related' diseases costs them £2.7 billion a year.

Smokers pay £11 billion in taxes every year. So we subsidise your healthcare to a large degree. Be grateful!

There are well ventilated smoking areas in all bars. It's called outside. Smoking stinks up any internal area it takes part in and the odour affects smoking and non smoking areas.

With the problem of people living longer and costing tax payers more I beleive the British government is going to encourage risky behavioir to increase the death rate due to dropping amounts of smokers.

State sponsored base jumping and mountaineering is first.

[nisakiman]

Retarded ideas once again from Somkwai. The first ban that should start is banning this guy from being head of Excise. This is a cultural item. Hope the shops that WERE in business find another country to do business that lrespects them more, and where their investment isn't banned or swindled by the likes of Thai's Excise morons.

It has no culture here.

Nor does drinking beer. Perhaps they should ban that, too.

[gemini81]

Retarded ideas once again from Somkwai. The first ban that should start is banning this guy from being head of Excise. This is a cultural item. Hope the shops that WERE in business find another country to do business that lrespects them more, and where their investment isn't banned or swindled by the likes of Thai's Excise morons.

It has no culture here.

Then why are the all the shops selling it and offering it around here in Ekkamai and Thong Lor to upper class Thai clients? No adaptability here? If it didn't sell, they wouldn't have been selling it. Funny tid bit is one restaurant, Cairo, which offers it, is operated by thong lor police mafia...be interesting to see if it remains available, or if in fact they close it up- being a late night club the rich kids flock to after 2am.

There will still be some of these places around, according to who owns them I imagine....we'll wait and see...

[spidermike007]

The reason they want to clamp down on that and the electronic cigarettes is they are missing out on collecting the tax

Always same...bs.

Concerned about public health ...??

What about breathing in all those fumes from cars and trucks.

What about cities full of pollution, allergies and new diseases, mutated killer flues ,dis-formed new born babies or (babies born with COPD where mothers and father never smoked before).......

and list can go on... .

any radical solution?

Sounds like the rationalization of an out of control smoker.

[spidermike007]

You want to smoke?

Fine. Go ahead.

Just don't do it around those of us who find it a foul habit.

Indeed, the last thing I want to do is to inlfict my pleasures on someone who doesn't like them. However, the anti-smoking lobby finds it quite acceptable to inflict their displeasures on me by removing my choice to enjoy sitting in a bar with a beer and a cigarette. It would have been so easy to mandate separate, well signed bars where smoking is or isn't permitted. Or separate areas, with good ventilation. But of course, it never was anything to do with health. It was always about social engineering. And increased profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

I do not have a problem with people smoking, just as long as

1. I do not have to inhale the smoke, which gives me asthma.

Oddly enough, smoking is supposed to be protective against asthma, although I haven't done much research on it.

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/2596/want_to_cure_your_asthma_start_smoking

2. I do not have to inhale the stench that the hookahs emit.

Hookahs do not emit a stench, they give off an aroma. Whether you like the aroma or not is purely subjective.

3. I do not have to pay for their healthcare.

According the the (doubtless inflated) figures from the NHS in the UK, 'smoking related' diseases costs them £2.7 billion a year.

Smokers pay £11 billion in taxes every year. So we subsidise your healthcare to a large degree. Be grateful!

There are well ventilated smoking areas in all bars. It's called outside. Smoking stinks up any internal area it takes part in and the odour affects smoking and non smoking areas.

With the problem of people living longer and costing tax payers more I beleive the British government is going to encourage risky behavioir to increase the death rate due to dropping amounts of smokers.

State sponsored base jumping and mountaineering is first.

How about an annual purge day, sponsored by the state in the US, the UK, and Oz? I'll bet some segments of the population would be grateful for it. And we could go after tiny george, little dick cheney, jamie dimon, and a few other rascals.

[billphillips]

As far as I know, it's been illegal for some time. It's not a new thing. Why don't they just enforce the laws here instead of talking about them.

[Thai at Heart]

of all the priorities, and they pick this one?