No more smoking in airports, and no more cheap Thai cigarettes

Thai smokers are under fire.

As of Sunday, February 3, all airports operated by Airports of Thailand (AoT) have been declared no-smoking zones with fines up to 5,000 baht for any violators.

AoT has now abolished all smoking rooms in both the offices and passenger buildings in all six airports which they manage. This comes in accordance with the 2017 Tobacco Control Act and a 2018 Public Health Ministry announcement requiring all offices of government agencies and state enterprises (which include airports) to assign no-smoking areas to protect non-smokers.

The six airports are: Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai and Mae Fah Luang.

As the new laws are enforced smokers will soon be unable to smoke near most public buildings.

To try and cater to all, AoT are now arranging smoking areas outside the passenger buildings in the six airports.

But there is more bad news for smokers as now five brands in ten categories of cheap cigarettes produced by the Thai Tabacco Monopoly (TTM) will see a price increase of 33 baht as of October this year.

All TTM cigarettes will start at the price of 93 Baht, which Director of TTM Daonoi Suthiniphaphan said would lead to 100 baht per pack minimum in the future. Danoi told the press that the 40% price increase reflects the state’s new excise tax rates and is not for TTM’s profit.

For more information on new smoking bans and regulation click HERE.

For more information regarding new outside smoking areas at AoT airports call the AoT Contact Centre at 1722.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post, Daily News