Thailand should strengthen its monitoring and enforcement of e-cigarettes, according to World Health Organization representative Jos Vandelaer, reports The Nation.
Speaking at the Thai Health Promotion Foundation on Dec. 18, Vanderlaer praised the kingdom’s decision to prohibit vaping in the country.
However, because vaping is still widespread in Thailand, he believes the government must do a better job of enforcing the law.
Vandelaer rejected the notion that e-cigarettes are an effective smoking cessation tool, as claimed by tobacco harm reduction activists. “Don’t get fooled,” he was quoted as saying. “There is as of now no evidence that the commercialization of e-cigarettes as consumer products has had a net benefit for public health.”
According to a recent study by the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, 8.8 percent of Thais aged 13 to 15 used e-cigarettes in 2021, up from 3.3 percent in 2015.
Vanderlaer’s comments come in the wake of a WHO statement urging action to prevent the uptake of e-cigarettes to counter nicotine addiction. On the same day, the global health body released a technical note with detailed information on the evidence and factors underpinning its guidance.