E-cigarettes – Thailand ban is “appropriate” says leading doctor

A leading Thai doctor has said that the government’s ban on the import and usage of e-cigarettes is appropriate.

While another has rejected claims from users and the e-cigarette industry that vaping is safe and doesn’t lead to addiction.

Thailand has some of the strictest penalties against e-cigarettes in the world. While many countries have vaping shops on street corners in Thailand importers face jail and even users could wind up in serious trouble.

Dr Wanchai Suphajaturat, a member of an anti-smoking panel, told Thai Rath in a feature about e-cigarettes that in his opinion the Thai government’s measures were appropriate.

People should not be encouraged to take up e-cigarettes as a means of quitting regular smoking. It was not proven that they were safe at all and more research needed to be done.

People who want to quit should get help such as phoning the 1600 helpline.

He said that smoking was draining the national coffers as 50,000 people die annually. E-cigarettes were not the answer.

Dr Prakit Watheesathakakit, the secretary of an anti-smoking society concurred saying that claims that vaping was 95% safe were nonsense.

He cited cancer and heart disease as a problem and said that nicotine levels were much higher for vapers and this was the addictive substance that had smokers coming back for more.

He dismissed claims from a 12 man pressure group that the law should be changed. he said that six of those people had no experience to bring to the table and two of them had a vested interest in the e-cigarette business.

Dr Prakit was pictured with a sign in Thai that suggested: “Cigarettes= addictive drugs”

Thai Visa / Thai Rath

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