Home smoking ban

A new law in Thailand will make it illegal to smoke at home in a bid to reduce health problems caused by environmental tobacco smoke, reports The Bangkok Post.

The law, which goes into effect on August 20, will give smokers 90 days to break the habit, according to the 2019 Family Development and Protection Act. Those who violate the law can be tried in either the juvenile or criminal courts. While no penalty has been fixed yet, the court can order violators to stop smoking in the house and/or undertake a course to quit smoking.

“Last year 8,278 people died of second-hand smoke,” said Ronnachai Khongsakon, chief of the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Centre. He added that 33 percent of smokers smoke in their homes and almost 74 percent smoke daily.