Pro-vaping group wants e-cigarettes legalized

More than half of Thailand’s 80,000 e-cigarette users are between 15 and 24, according to a 2013 poll. WHO called e-cigarettes “hazardous” and demanded tighter regulation to protect children and teens. Over 10,000 people have joined Right2Switch’s petition to preserve consumer rights. We ask Thailand to follow the evidence. Our nation continues to follow WHO’s erroneous advice, putting us in a small group. Vaping is safer than smoking and the best way to help people quit. Former smoker vaping saved my life. E-cigarettes should be legalized and regulated. 50,000 Thais die annually from smoking. Thailand’s harsh vaping prohibitions would increase smoking-related illnesses and deaths. It’s crazy that e-cigarettes are now widely supported in Thailand.

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) noted Asia’s progress toward safer nicotine products from tobacco-based cigarettes. Public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said earlier this month that e-cigarette imports must be banned to protect teens from vaping’s health risks. Saligupta believes the WHO recommendations, which 70 countries have approved, are deceitful. ECST director Asa Saligupta disagreed. He said the prohibition will make things worse. The director of a pro-e-cigarette group in Thailand believes legalizing the practice would increase government monitoring of youth vaping and make it safer than cancer sticks. THR advocates will remain quiet. A strict purchasing age will protect customers, encourage more smokers to quit, and reduce adolescent vaping. According to Saligupta, the laws will make nicotine products safer if they are controlled. He added that the public and government on all sides support vaping and measures to tackle Thailand’s smoking scourge.