The National Health Commission Office (NHCO) has agreed on five principles to prevent e-cigarette use among children and adolescents, as studies show that the earlier a person starts using tobacco, the higher the chance of developing an addictive lifelong habit.
Young people are a major target of e-cigarette companies, and they can easily become new smokers, facing both short- and long-term health risks, said Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who is also the NHCO chairman.
The commission is pushing to exercise the most effective measures possible to ban both the import and trade of e-cigarettes, he said on Friday.
The five measures agreed upon include managing the information regarding tobacco use, creating awareness of the associated dangers, monitoring and enforcing e-cigarette control laws, developing a partner network to combat the spread of e-cigarettes, and supporting policies and measures to prevent and suppress their use.
Participating agencies will be asked to report their progress every six months, especially the number of smokers.
“We will propose this resolution for the cabinet’s approval, and we look forward to seeing all related agencies take action based on the framework,” Mr Suriya said.
The suppression of e-cigarettes is a key policy of the government given the growing concern over how susceptible children are to messages encouraging them to try the devices, the minister said.
Suwanna Ruangkanchanasetr, who chairs the Public Health Policy Development (e-cigarette control) committee, said vape use in Thailand among minors is getting worse.
The nation’s valuable resources should be protected from dangerous environments and health threats, she said, adding that the toxicity of e-cigarettes has been confirmed by the World Health Organization.
According to reports, e-cigarettes, which now also come in fanciful toy-like designs and synthetic flavours, are hugely popular among young people.
The youngest known e-cigarette smokers were reported to be of primary school age.
“We urge the government to maintain its policy to ban the e-cigarette trade in Thai territory,” Dr Suwanna said, adding that legal action should be enforced against wrongdoers.