Scholars and health experts have voiced their opposition to the House special committee on e-cigarettes' advice to control its use in the country, saying the recommendations reflect the committee's pro-smoking stance.
The committee recently concluded a study on e-cigarettes, which outlines three ways for the government to proceed on the matter. It said the government could keep its ban on all e-cigarettes, legalise heated tobacco products (HTP), which are devices that heat tobacco to release nicotine vapours without burning it, or legalise all kinds of e-cigarettes.
At a recent seminar held to dissect the special committee's study on the matter, experts, including members of the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Centre (TCKC), Action Against Smoking and Health Foundation, and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, claim the committee's recommendations should be scrutinised further.
To begin with, the special committee -- which is chaired by Pheu Thai MP Niyom Wiwatthanaditkul -- counts two individuals with known ties to the tobacco industry as members, said Assoc Prof Dr Roengrudee Patanavanich, Faculty of Medicine of Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University.
Roengrudee: Wary of industry bias
"The involvement of people who have close relations with tobacco companies in determining e-cigarette policies is a violation of Article 5.3 of the World Tobacco Control Convention, which means the committee's report lacks credibility and is likely to be biased in favour of tobacco companies," she said.
"With two out of the three options effectively legalising e-cigarettes in the country, the recommendations go against the current global trend of banning their use," she said, noting Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Palau, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Maldives, and Vietnam have all rolled out tough measures to curb their use.
Countries where e-cigarettes are legal have also started to restrict the kinds of e-cigarettes available, with the UK, France, and Belgium placing a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, said Assoc Prof Dr Roengrudee.
Prakit: Costs of vaping add up
Assoc Prof Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit, executive secretary of Action on Smoking and Health Foundation, said the committee's report failed to list the detailed control measures that should be implemented if the government legalised e-cigarettes.
At present, the products are illegal, but the government has not been able to control their sale, with e-cigarettes readily available to anyone, almost anywhere.
He said the government should look at the UK, saying despite rules which restrict the sale of e-cigarettes to individuals under the age of 18, about 25% of youth have admitted to using e-cigarettes anyway.
"If e-cigarettes are legalised in Thailand, more than 25% of our youths will be addicted to them," he said.
Isra: Not worth harm to kids
In addition, if the ban on e-cigarette imports is lifted, the government must allocate a huge budget to develop and enforce control measures, which include ensuring smoking cessation treatments are available to those who want to quit, controlling what additives can be used, and handling the added waste from disposable e-cigarettes, he said.
"More agencies, more specialised personnel, more laboratory tools to detect harmful substances will be needed, which are very expensive," he said.
This is why the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases recommends that policymakers in low- and middle-income countries, including Thailand, ban the sale of e-cigarettes and HTPs, he said.
Prof Isra Sarntisart, an expert committee member of the National Tobacco Product Control Board and a former adviser to the World Health Organisation on tobacco taxes, said that the House's special committee is trying to frame the legalisation of e-cigarettes as an economic issue.
"It said the move will increase tax revenues but this is widely disputed. Smokers take to e-cigarettes to replace smoking tobacco. Legalising them won't increase revenues because for revenues to increase, the number of smokers will have to increase," he said, noting any gains from e-cigarette taxes will be offset by decreased income from tobacco taxes.
Legalising unflavoured HTPs won't curb the country's e-cigarette problem either, as such measures are focused on the wrong product, he added, noting most minors smoke flavoured e-cigarettes.
Nitas: Others hurt by smoking
Citing a study conducted in the US, he said the tax collected from e-cigarettes is 1,500 times lower than the medical expenses incurred as a result of e-cigarette-related illnesses. It is not worth the harm to children's and youth's health, he said.
Assoc Prof Dr Nitas Sirichotirat, from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said that smoking is one of the four hurdles preventing the country from achieving its UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly concerning health and economic inequalities.
"The burden of covering the costs of treatments for smoking-related illnesses falls on the government, which is effectively funded by our tax money," he said. "Moreover, e-cigarettes affect people other than the smokers themselves, especially children and youth. It is our duty to protect our children from addictive substances."