Public Health Ministry focuses on new cigarette law

[Lite Beer]

Public Health Ministry focuses on new cigarette law

BANGKOK: -- May 31 marks the World’s No Smoking Day and the main focus of the Public Health Ministry’s campaign this year will be a new cigarette law to provide better protection to Thai youths against the threats from smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products.

According to the National Statistical Office, there are altogether 11.4 million cigarette smokers in the country as of last year representing an increase of 21 percent from a year earlier.

The number of smokers below 18 is estimated at 400,000 and there are over 100,000 new smokers every year with every seven out of ten will be hooked to smoking the rest of their lives.

Average spending on smoking is estimated at 409 baht per month per head. And over 50,000 die each year from diseases related to smoking.

At the Leelavadi clinic at Maha Sarakham hospital, between 10-15 people visit the clinic every day for consultation on quitting smoking and rehabilitation. The success rate in quitting smoking is said to be 80 percent as most of the volunteers are determined the quit the habit.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/public-health-ministry-focuses-on-new-cigarette-law

-- Thai PBS 2015-05-31

[thesetat2013]

Wow! 80% success! That is pretty good. Are they using attitude adjustment meetings there to get so many to actually quit? Or are these just more numbers being spouted out without real proof. Maybe the smokers who succeeded in quitting were not really addicted like a true smoker.

[EricBerg]

Sounds ok, but in European countries the most successful intervention was/is making the habit exponentially more expensive. The number of smokers there has dropped significantly. Especially with the youth.

[clockman]

Magic numbers hat! every one a winner. When you have this. And fortune tellers!

[MaxiJaz]

It doesn't help anyone when the cost of trying to quit using some sort of replacement nicotine product for example nicotine gum when the price of the gums are more than 3 times the price of cigarettes. It's far cheaper to smoke. Gums are between 800 and 1000 baht for a box of 96 gums from my local pharmacy in Big C

[BudRight]

Sounds ok, but in European countries the most successful intervention was/is making the habit exponentially more expensive. The number of smokers there has dropped significantly. Especially with the youth.

Certainly the number of people who now lie about smoking has increased, and sales from the black market are not tracked, only estimated. I started to lying to my doctor about smoking, but he still found things to pester me with.

[masuk]

I can't help wondering if the cigarettes are 'adjusted' during the manufacturing process.

Some years ago, it was reported that cigarettes manufactured in Indonesia had extra nicotine added, to make them more addictive.

Thankfully, smoking in public places in Thailand is strongly discouraged. It's bad in many Asian countries where you can sit down for a meal in a restaurant, to find people next to you blowing their second hand smoke over you.

In Australia, my local restaurant doubled its customers as soon as smoking was banned in such places. The downside was that I could no longer wander in and choose a table, or even find a seat.

[loong]

According to the National Statistical Office, there are altogether 11.4 million cigarette smokers in the country as of last year representing an increase of 21 percent from a year earlier.

Why are there always obvious errors in these articles concerning statistics. I guess that should be an increase of 2.1%.

But that still does not tally with the rest of the report.

100,000 new smokers

at least 50,000 of the old smokers died or gave up smoking

What about smokers that died of non smoking related causes?

So a net increase in the number of smokers is no more than 50,000 = less than half %

[gamini]

I can't help wondering if the cigarettes are 'adjusted' during the manufacturing process.

Some years ago, it was reported that cigarettes manufactured in Indonesia had extra nicotine added, to make them more addictive.

Thankfully, smoking in public places in Thailand is strongly discouraged. It's bad in many Asian countries where you can sit down for a meal in a restaurant, to find people next to you blowing their second hand smoke over you.

In Australia, my local restaurant doubled its customers as soon as smoking was banned in such places. The downside was that I could no longer wander in and choose a table, or even find a seat.

when my favourite in Chiangmai restaurant banned smoking it became very crowded. I had to book a table in advance. Non smoking laws are very popular in Thailand. The laws about smoking have been very well enforced in Thailand unlike other laws.

[eliotness]

Making smoking more expensive just profits criminals bringing in "duty frees" from neighbouring countries. Already I've seen shops selling duty free cigs under the counter and any rise in prices will only make it worse. Banning smoking, totally, in British pubs helped in the demise of so many of them. Only those with outside smoking areas really survive. It seems a significant number of pub regulars were and still are smokers. Those nice non smokers tend not to be really regular pub drinkers and therefore most pubs can't survive on their trade alone.

There was a survey done a few years ago at Liverpool FC after a match to check on the discarded cig packets. Nearly 70% were marked as being duty free, do you really want Thailand to go the same way ?

[fred Kubasa]

Instead of "focusing" on the smokers how about " focusing" on

the government agencies invested in the tobacco industry. Yes,

they are !

[hugh2121]

It doesn't help anyone when the cost of trying to quit using some sort of replacement nicotine product for example nicotine gum when the price of the gums are more than 3 times the price of cigarettes. It's far cheaper to smoke. Gums are between 800 and 1000 baht for a box of 96 gums from my local pharmacy in Big C

Another health product with 100% import tax?