The Governor of Phuket Province, Narong Woonciew, met with representatives of the Non-Smoking Campaign Foundation and Phuket Smoke-free News at an event held at the Royal City Hotel in Phuket to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen control measures related to access to tobacco and e-cigarettes.
At the conference, attended mainly by school administrators and representatives of local government agencies, Dr. Niti Hethanurak, Deputy Director of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, detailed the key points of preventing and controlling the “youth e-cigarette pandemic” in the hope that through these efforts, Phuket province will be aligned with international standards on tobacco access and use.
In addition, the signing of the MOU will complement these efforts by attracting the cooperation of all relevant government agencies to prevent all Thais, especially children and adolescents, from becoming addicted to various tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, by communicating the potential dangers in a timely and accurate manner.
Officials said it is necessary to strictly prohibit the sale of such products through law enforcement and to closely monitor, especially in terms of access to e-cigarettes, which have become very popular among young people.
Phuket is one of the largest islands in Thailand, and the natural scenery and rich activities have made it a world-famous holiday destination, but the large number of tourists have brought the habit of using e-cigarettes to the island, causing teenagers and young adults to become interested in new forms of smoking. In addition, rich and diverse entertainment venues have become places for young people to use e-cigarettes.
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【1】 Phuket pledges e-cigarette restrictions for youths