News Forum - Government considering legalising e-cigarettes amid outcry from health groups

[Thaiger]

The government is looking at ways e-cigarettes could be legalised, in order to offer a less harmful alternative to smoking regular cigarettes. The Digital Economy and Society Minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, says he believes vaping is safer for people trying to quit smoking, but his comments have been met with fierce opposition from health campaigners, according to a Bangkok Post report. The minister has pointed out that e-cigarettes are legal in at least 67 countries, but remain banned in Thailand. He says that not only could they offer a safer alternative to Thailand’s 10 million smokers, but home-grown tobacco could potentially […]

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[Shade_Wilder]

"The government is looking at ways e-cigarettes could be legalised, in order to offer a less harmful alternative to smoking regular cigarettes."

How about instead of a "less harmful" alternative, the government mandate a "No-Harm" mandate by raising the tax on cigarettes by 500 Baht a pack? Doubling each and every year? And, at the same time, budget funds to aid the addicts get clean? Using cigarettes exactly as they were meant to be used is seriously detrimental to the user's health and to those around them; isn't it time to just end their use?

Many smokers claim that switching to vaping helps them quit, but my experience is that they just vape and vape and vape and vape. Is vaping harmless?

"According to the Bangkok Post, Ronnachai Kongsakon from the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Centre says that worldwide studies into the use of e-cigarettes indicate that vaping could do more harm than good. He insists e-cigarettes are not a safer alternative for people who want to stop smoking, pointing out that little is known about the long-term health effects."

I have no great knowledge on the effects of vaping, but merely use logic; are those involved in smoking, in any way whatsoever, looking out for themselves or the consumer? If you believe it is the Consumer, you should probably be forced to wear a safety helmet 24/7/365.

Smokers are addicts and need our help.

Lets help them break their addiction to the betterment of all.

 

[gummy]

No doubt the prime motive is not to legalise "in order to offer a less harmful alternative to smoking regular cigarettes" ,  rather find another way of applying additional taxes.  

[HolyCowCm]

E-cigs took the school system in the USA by storm and they if have excessive vaping use are dangerous to constricting the lungs and the chemicals in them. This has to be about new taxes and appeasing the young kids in order to make them like them. Now if they would just legalize prostitutions and open weed smoking then they really might start to have some change their opinion on the hatred.

[Jason]

This topic is something I have some experience with. After being a smoker for many years, and always hoping to find some kind of alternative, a good friend (also a long term smoker) set me up to vape instead of smoking. He had moved to vaping by the sheer cost of cigarettes. Successive governments have kept up flogging the smokers with ever greater taxes. In my country the average cost of a packet of 30 is AUD $50. Two thirds of that is Tobacco Tax. So get this...the government is making twice as much out of cigarettes as the producer does. In Thailand, you can pick up a pack of 20 for about AUD $5. Vaping costs about AUD $2.50 per day or less. The real demon is nicotine. But instead of either the government or a cigarette company deciding how much nicotine I use, is up to me. So I can over time reduce it at my own pace. The other ingredients (vegetable glycerol and artificial flavours), have caused no adverse effects in me. In fact, I no longer cough, my lungs are clear and I can taste and smell again. My clothes don't stink and people around my like the aroma. While I don't want to see young people taking it up, for long term smokers, like me, it's been amazing. I only pay 10% tax now. The only time I have to buy cigarettes, is when I go to Thailand, because vaping is banned. How absolutely ridiculous. If you want to ban vaping for those under 25...go ahead. Just leave me alone and I'll vape.

[Jason]

For all you "Health Heroes" out there on a crusade against smoking and vaping, turn your attention to other health crisies, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovian cancer, testicular cancer, childhood obesity, adult obesity....corona virus. Smokers and Vapers are over your "Nanny" attention. 

[Stonker]

16 minutes ago, Jason said:

This topic is something I have some experience with. After being a smoker for many years, and always hoping to find some kind of alternative, a good friend (also a long term smoker) set me up to vape instead of smoking. He had moved to vaping by the sheer cost of cigarettes. Successive governments have kept up flogging the smokers with ever greater taxes. In my country the average cost of a packet of 30 is AUD $50. Two thirds of that is Tobacco Tax. So get this...the government is making twice as much out of cigarettes as the producer does. In Thailand, you can pick up a pack of 20 for about AUD $5. Vaping costs about AUD $2.50 per day or less. The real demon is nicotine. But instead of either the government or a cigarette company deciding how much nicotine I use, is up to me. So I can over time reduce it at my own pace. The other ingredients (vegetable glycerol and artificial flavours), have caused no adverse effects in me. In fact, I no longer cough, my lungs are clear and I can taste and smell again. My clothes don't stink and people around my like the aroma. While I don't want to see young people taking it up, for long term smokers, like me, it's been amazing. I only pay 10% tax now. The only time I have to buy cigarettes, is when I go to Thailand, because vaping is banned. How absolutely ridiculous. If you want to ban vaping for those under 25...go ahead. Just leave me alone and I'll vape.

That seems pretty reasonable to me, but why not tax vaping at only slightly less than cigarettes, so there's still less incentive to start and a financial as well as a health reason to change first from cigarettes to vape, then from vape to not at all?

I stopped smoking twenty years ago, overnight, but many can't and I can understand why as I'd given up before but started again due to stress at work which I couldn't avoid at the time.

25 minutes ago, Jason said:

My clothes don't stink and people around my like the aroma.

Maybe "prefer" rather than "like" .....