Underthe new law, the minimum age to legally buy cigarette in Thailand will beraised from 18 to 20 years old and the sale of individual cigarette will beprohibited. Violators will face three months or less in jail or a fine of30,000 THB (about 850 USD).
The law also bans the production and import of cigarettes with a packcontaining fewer than 20 cigarettes and stipulates a fine of 300,000 THB(around 8,550 USD) for violators.
Inaddition, a national council on tobacco control will be established, which willwork to protect health of non-smoking people and improve smokers’ health.
Withthe new law, the number of smokers in Thailand is hoped to reduce by 200,000people per year. Currently, the country has about one million smokers. -VNA