E-cigarettes - "light up" and face years in jail

[webfact]

E-cigarettes - "light up" and face years in jail


Image: Daily News

BANGKOK: -- A popular online police page has confirmed penalties for the possession of E-cigarettes. Users could be jailed for five years and producers face 10 years inside for flouting the law.

The advice from policewoman Sirirat Piankaew on the "Muat Ka" page comes in the wake of the justice minister's call for amphetamines to be taken off the narcotics list. Much confusion still reigns about the legality of e-cigarettes, reported Daily News.

Sirirat said that while there is actually no law forbidding the possession of E-cigarettes they fall into a category of goods that have not had tax levied on them and their possession therefore is illegal. Offenders could face five years jail or a fine of four times the value of the goods or both jail and fine.

The importation, sale and production for sale of E-cigarettes is also illegal with offenders liable to 10 year sentences for production and sale and a fine of five times the value of the goods or both. This law has been on the statute since December 2014.

All services associated with the smoking and promotion of E-cigarettes are also banned.

Source: Daily News


-- 2016-06-21

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

A mentally unstable justice system!

[Jingthing]

Vaping

with man bun -- add 5 years

with ironic vintage mustache -- add 5 years

[shirtless]

It must be a big crime , Thailand wake the hell up. Paradise lost.

[dcnx]

What if you're a rich hiso and you kill someone while vaping?

[Thechook]

Are the tobacco companies pulling a few strings. I thought people turn to E cig in a bid to kick the nicotine habit.

[Brer Fox]

For those who need their nicotine E-cigarettes is a much healthier way to take it rather via normal tobacco cigarettes with all the associated health problems.

Nicotine on it's own is not carcinogenic but just about everything else in a tobacco cigarette is. E-Cigarettes are encouraged in some countries in preference to tobacco cigarettes which kill people. But no not in Thailand, it is more important to collect tax rather than save lives.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

So.. smoking weed is actually less of a problem than vaping if I understand correctly.

Somehow that does make sense.

(For reference: http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/marijuana-arrest.html )

Edited June 20, 2016 by WinnieTheKhwai

[donsonny]

_{New day and a new big laugh. Thailand is becoming more funny than Monty Pyhton and Fawlty Towers. Thailand is amazing and the happy General and his gang continues to make Thailand the worldwide fool. As written amphetamines to be taken off the narcotics list and get in the monkey house for smoking on E- cigarettes. The way to go.}

[thesetat2013]

I guess most of the street vendors in bkk and pattaya are exempt from this law. They still have them for sale and I am sure the police are aware of what goods are being sold in those shops.

As for the crime I would assume that if you bought your e-cigarette before 2014 that you are exempt from this law if you are caught in possession of it?

[Suradit69]

For those who need their nicotine E-cigarettes is a much healthier way to take it rather via normal tobacco cigarettes with all the associated health problems.

Nicotine on it's own is not carcinogenic but just about everything else in a tobacco cigarette is. E-Cigarettes are encouraged in some countries in preference to tobacco cigarettes which kill people. But no not in Thailand, it is more important to collect tax rather than save lives.

From the American Lung Association: http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html?referrer=https://www.google.co.th/

Starting in August 2016, FDA will begin to apply and enforce key provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as it relates to the sales, marketing and manufacturing of e-cigarettes.

We don't presently know what is in e-cigarettes. However, in initial lab tests conducted in 2009 the FDA found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges. A review of studies found that levels of toxins in e-cigarette aerosol varied considerably within and between brands. A 2014 study found that aerosol from e-cigarettes with a higher voltage level contains more formaldehyde, another carcinogen with the potential to cause cancer. The findings are alarming, and underscores why the American Lung Association called so urgently for FDA oversight of these products.

Flavors in e-cigarettes are also a cause for concern. Not only are flavors used to target kids, but they may be harmful on their own. E-cigarette and flavor manufacturers and marketers may suggest that the flavor ingredients used in e-cigarettes are safe because they have FEMA GRASTM status for use in food, but such statements are false and misleading. The reality is that FEMA GRASTM status only applies to food, meaning it's safe to eat, and does not apply to inhaling through e-cigarettes.

Diacetyl, a buttery flavored chemical often added to food products such as popcorn, caramel, and dairy products, has also been found in some e-cigarettes with flavors. Diacetyl can cause a serious and irreversible lung disease commonly known as "popcorn lung."⁴

Poisoning concern

Aside from concerns about e-cigarette use and emissions alone, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that calls to the nation's poison centers for e-cigarette exposure poisonings are rapidly increasing. One study found that while most calls involving e-cigarette liquid poisoning came from accidental ingestion of the e-cigarette or its liquid, about one-sixth of the calls related to someone inhaling these items. Exposure through the eye and the skin were also reported.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Suradit69

[maoro2013]

Sirirat said that while there is actually no law forbidding the possession of E-cigarettes

The importation, sale and production for sale of E-cigarettes is also illegal

So how do you get one if all those things are banned. Of course is is illegal to possess one.

[DaveinAsia]

What if you're a rich hiso and you kill someone while vaping?

Shave the head and eyebrows and a 7/11 bag full of cash will fix that

[Deli]

What if you're a rich hiso and you kill someone while vaping?

You get bonus points and a MP status

[BigC]

E-cigarettes - "light up" and face years in jail

Image: Daily News

BANGKOK: -- A popular online police page has confirmed penalties for the possession of E-cigarettes. Users could be jailed for five years and producers face 10 years inside for flouting the law.

The advice from policewoman Sirirat Piankaew on the "Muat Ka" page comes in the wake of the justice minister's call for amphetamines to be taken off the narcotics list. Much confusion still reigns about the legality of e-cigarettes, reported Daily News.

Sirirat said that while there is actually no law forbidding the possession of E-cigarettes they fall into a category of goods that have not had tax levied on them and their possession therefore is illegal. Offenders could face five years jail or a fine of four times the value of the goods or both jail and fine.

The importation, sale and production for sale of E-cigarettes is also illegal with offenders liable to 10 year sentences for production and sale and a fine of five times the value of the goods or both. This law has been on the statute since December 2014.

All services associated with the smoking and promotion of E-cigarettes are also banned.

Source: Daily News

-- 2016-06-21

This law needs to e revised

As technically your not smoking

Your breathing in vapor it's not smoke

Edited June 21, 2016 by BigC

[bristolgeoff]

that is crazy I know many who puff on a e cig in chiang mai.so if that is illegal.buy a packet of fags and smoking them is ok everywhere.this is thailand

[Prbkk]

Not a health issue, not a tax revenue issue; rather all about protecting the tobacco monopoly as people might consider a switch to vaping. Europe, one of the last bastions of cigarette smoking, has seen a huge switch to e cigs as people understand the lower health risks and greater convenience of vaping.

[DrTuner]

An "e-cigarette", which is already ancient tech by now, is just a battery and a container with a heat coil in it. What's the tax on that, 7%?

The liquid may also be nicotine free, in which case it only cntains common food ingredients. I guess the penalty for baking a non-taxed cake is also 10y in the slammer.

<deleted> <deleted>.

[sahibji]

unable to understand the logic for the harsh sentence for E cigarettes when

normal cigarettes are not any lesser harmful.

start with education on the harmful effects of E-cigarettes.making them very expensive may be another solution.

[Gforcejunkypkt]

For those who need their nicotine E-cigarettes is a much healthier way to take it rather via normal tobacco cigarettes with all the associated health problems.

Nicotine on it's own is not carcinogenic but just about everything else in a tobacco cigarette is. E-Cigarettes are encouraged in some countries in preference to tobacco cigarettes which kill people. But no not in Thailand, it is more important to collect tax rather than save lives.

From the American Lung Association: http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/e-cigarettes-and-lung-health.html?referrer=https://www.google.co.th/

Starting in August 2016, FDA will begin to apply and enforce key provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as it relates to the sales, marketing and manufacturing of e-cigarettes.

We don't presently know what is in e-cigarettes. However, in initial lab tests conducted in 2009 the FDA found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges. A review of studies found that levels of toxins in e-cigarette aerosol varied considerably within and between brands. A 2014 study found that aerosol from e-cigarettes with a higher voltage level contains more formaldehyde, another carcinogen with the potential to cause cancer. The findings are alarming, and underscores why the American Lung Association called so urgently for FDA oversight of these products.

Flavors in e-cigarettes are also a cause for concern. Not only are flavors used to target kids, but they may be harmful on their own. E-cigarette and flavor manufacturers and marketers may suggest that the flavor ingredients used in e-cigarettes are safe because they have FEMA GRASTM status for use in food, but such statements are false and misleading. The reality is that FEMA GRASTM status only applies to food, meaning it's safe to eat, and does not apply to inhaling through e-cigarettes.

Diacetyl, a buttery flavored chemical often added to food products such as popcorn, caramel, and dairy products, has also been found in some e-cigarettes with flavors. Diacetyl can cause a serious and irreversible lung disease commonly known as "popcorn lung."⁴

Poisoning concern

Aside from concerns about e-cigarette use and emissions alone, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that calls to the nation's poison centers for e-cigarette exposure poisonings are rapidly increasing. One study found that while most calls involving e-cigarette liquid poisoning came from accidental ingestion of the e-cigarette or its liquid, about one-sixth of the calls related to someone inhaling these items. Exposure through the eye and the skin were also reported.

I don't give a flying <deleted> what the FDA or the American Lung Association think about e-cigs and vaping -- they're both in the pocket of pharmaceuticals and Big Tobacco.... And if you took the time to really research some of their claims you've listed above @Suradit69 by re-posting that drivel, you'd know they're absolute BS! I'm not going to go through every point, but one blatant lie is that when properly used, e-cigs DO NOT contain more formaldehyde (or even a measurably dangerous amount) -- people do not normally vape at the temps/conditions that biased test used! I humbly suggest for you to do some more objective research and get your facts straight before you start promulgating such ludicrous propaganda, which I can bet you have little personal experience with...

So again, the FDA and ALA can stick it where the sun don't shine -- after 25 years and nearly 3 packs of stinkies a day, 1 1/2 years ago I switched to completely over to vaping (a process which took about a week) -- and haven't touched a cigarette since! And I feel 5 times healthier; I cough less than most non-smokers and can also run or MTB rings around most non-smokers. I also don't smell like an ashtray anymore (same with my clothes/room), making life more pleasant/healthier for my daughter and dogs. So are you and the FDA REALLY going to tell me e-cigs (which contain approx. 4,000 less harmful chemicals than cigarettes) are worse (or even equally bad) when compared to traditional tobacco products????

[Colabamumbai]

I see a lot of Thai men using nicotine pipes, will they also be outlawed?

[DrTuner]

start with education on the harmful effects of E-cigarettes.

There's a bit of a problem with that.

The immediate harmful effects are limited to "cloud chasers" who vape a extreme wattages and high temps, basically inducing burn products. Take a modern temperature controlled device and the heat can be adjusted to around 100-150 degrees C, producing very uniform and clean vapor.

Another problem is substandard liquid ingredients, especially the Chinese stuff they got here. The FDA should research that.

Given correct equipment and liquid, the largest harmful effects are pissing off tobacco companies.

[Time Traveller]

So if you're in possession of things that have not had tax levied on them you face jail? Might need to dispose of some rocks I found in the garden, the windows to the justice ministry will do

[Andrew65]

This will be mostly about no big, rich, Thai company/person having the agency for these products, unlike methamphetamine!

[hawker9000]

It must be a big crime , Thailand wake the hell up. Paradise lost.

Whatever paradise was left went up in smoke when they buddied up with the Chinese. Welcome to the bad old days.

[razer]

It's the tobacco barons in Thailand. They own the government past and present. They got the government to get rid of most foreign competition years ago.

[Keesters]

Was sitting at the beach the other day and a couple of Thai guys had these things blowing smelly (to me it smelt awful) smoke (I know its vapor but it looks like smoke) all around the place. It was very inconsiderate of them and disturbing not only to me and my mate but others around us. Yes they should be banned from public places not because of what they are but because of what they do. Same goes for those stinky BBQ pork 3 wheelers where the vendors wear masks to protect them from the smoke but are quite happy for the general public to suffer with it.

[mogo51]

A mentally unstable justice system!

Correction - 'Injustice' system

[LPCustom69]

I guess they have taken care of the gang violence problem, and are going after more serious problems! (sarcasm)

[AlQaholic]

Tobacco monopoly of Thailand.........showing it's powers.....