Tag: Thailand

  • TTM workers protest

    TTM workers protest

    Members of the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly’s (TTM) labor union rallied outside the Finance Ministry on Friday to protest about the imposition of a new excise-tax structure, according to a story in The Bangkok Post.

    The workers at the state-owned TTM believe that the new excise-tax structure has caused a 41 percent drop in TTM’s cigarette sales, while providing an opportunity for foreign tobacco companies to boost their share of the market.

    The rally leaders had planned to present a petition to the ministry arguing that the new tax structure and associated drop in sales could affect their jobs, and the livelihoods of tobacco farmers and those working in related businesses.

    As with the previous tax structure, the new one is based in part on prices, but while the prices used as the basis for previous taxes were ex-factory or declared import prices, now they are based on suggested retail prices. The rates are 20 percent for a pack of cigarettes priced at not more than 60 baht, and 40 percent for a pack priced at more than 60 baht.

    After the new rates came into effect in mid-September, importers were said to have cut the suggested retail prices of some types of imported cigarettes to 60 baht a pack to take advantage of the new rates.

    The labor union foresees a sharp drop in the market share of its local cigarette brands during the next two years.

    In all, 2,950 TTM employees, 1,000 temporary workers, about 20,000 tobacco farmers and more than 500,000 operators of TTM-related businesses would be hurt by the drop in the sales volume caused by the new tax structure, according to the labor union.

  • Tax change hits local sales

    Tax change hits local sales

    The Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) has asked the Finance Ministry to reconsider its new excise-tax structure, according to a story in The Bangkok Post.

    Under the new structure, TTM’s sales during the current fiscal year, which started on October 1 and which will end on September 30, 2018, are estimated to fall by 41 percent compared to those of the previous fiscal year.

    The deputy finance minister Wisudhi Srisuphan said yesterday the ministry was considering TTM’s request for a review of the new structure.

    Meanwhile, TTM’s employees are gathering signatures in support of filing a complaint against the ministry with the Administrative Court.

    As with the previous tax structure, the new one is based on both quantity and prices, but while the prices used as the basis for previous taxes were ex-factory or declared import prices, now they are based on suggested retail prices. The rates are 20 percent for a pack of cigarettes priced at not more than 60 baht, and 40 percent for a pack priced at more than 60 baht.

    After the new rates came into effect in mid-September, importers were said to have cut the suggested retail prices of some types of imported cigarettes to 60 baht a pack to take advantage of the new rates.

    And in doing so they have taken market share from the TTM.

  • Tax revenue to help elderly

    Tax revenue to help elderly

    Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly has voted to earmark two percent of the revenue it receives from alcohol and tobacco excise taxes to the Elderly Fund, which provides pensions for financially-poor seniors, according to a story in the Bangkok Post relayed by the TMA.

    This is the fourth time taxes have been earmarked to fund specific programs.

    Previously two percent of the revenue from excise taxes was allocated to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, 1.5 percent was allocated to the state-owned television operator, Thai PBS, and two percent was allocated to the National Sports Development Fund.

    The television and sports funds are capped at 2 billion baht (US$60.75 million) each year and the new appropriation is capped at 4 billion baht (US $121.5 million) a year.

    Any revenue in excess of the caps revert to the state coffers.

    Eligible seniors must be registered with the government’s poverty assistance program, be at least 60 years old and earn no more than 100,000 baht (US $3,037.67) a year.

  • Welcome to Thailand

    Welcome to Thailand

    Cigarette smoking is to be banned on 20 beaches across Thailand from November, according to a story in The Phuket Gazette.

    The bans are being introduced in an attempt to clean up the beaches.

    The Gazette story said that cigarette butts comprised the most numerous item found during beach clean-ups on Phuket Island, and that the litter problem created by butts went beyond Phuket.

    Beaches around the kingdom had a huge cigarette-butt problem that was aggravated by the complaints of a few people who disliked being downwind of smokers, the paper said.

    Unlike bottles and other some other garbage, cigarette butts were harder to see, partly because they were small and their colors tended to blend with the color of the sand.

    So, Thai authorities are banning the butts by banning smoking.

    The ban on smoking on 20 beaches will be backed by penalties that will entail violators being sent to prison for one year, being fined up to 100,000 Baht (US$3,000), or both.

    The 20 beaches included in the ban are in Pattaya, Bangsaen, Cha-am, Hua Hin, Phuket, Samui, Phang Nga and Songkhla.

    If the campaign is ‘successful’, more beaches will be included in the smoking ban.

    The Gazette said that during a recent beach clean-up on Patong Beach, it was estimated that volunteer cleaners found an average of 100,000 cigarette butts per 2.5 km of beach.

  • Warning on Thailand

    Warning on Thailand

    A UK travel agent is urging others to tell their customers not to vape in Thailand where they could face up to 10 years in prison for doing so, according to a story by Ravneet Ahluwalia for the independent.co.uk.

    Pat Waterton, manager at Langley Travel, was quoted as saying that she had been unaware of Thailand’s ban on the possession of vaping devices until her nephew was forced to pay £125 as an on-the-spot fine after being threatened with jail for possessing an e-cigarette in Bangkok.

    “If I’m selling Thailand I will definitely mention it now,” said Waterton. “All agents should. Thailand is very popular so we should make sure we are telling people about things that could ruin a holiday.”

    Ahluwalia wrote that in November 2014, Thailand had approved legislation outlawing the import of e-cigarettes into the country. This had since been expanded to the export as well as the sale of e-smoking devices and equipment.

    Although it was common to see people vaping in Thailand, offenders were technically breaking the law as possession was illegal, said Ahluwalia.

    On its website, the UK Foreign Office advises travellers not to take vaporisers such as e-cigarettes or refills into Thailand.

    ‘These items are likely to be confiscated and you could be fined or sent to prison for up to 10 years if convicted,’ the Foreign Office says.

    ‘The sale or supply of e-cigarettes and similar devices is also banned and you could face a heavy fine or up to five years imprisonment if found guilty. Several British Nationals have been arrested for possession of vaporisers and e-cigarettes.’

  • CSR banned

    CSR banned

    Thailand has raised the legal age to buy cigarettes to 20 and barred tobacco firms from participating in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, reports the Bangkok Post.

    Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said the measures are designed to cut the number of teenage smokers while protecting nonsmokers’ health.

    The new rules also close ‘loopholes’ in the 1992 Tobacco Products Control Act, according to Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk, director-general of the Department of Disease Control.

    The sale of tobacco is now prohibited in religious venues, medical facilities, education institutes and public parks, among other places.

    In addition, the law bans “indirect advertisements” carried out in the name of CSR activities.

    People who light up in smoke-free areas will be fined thb5,000 and those who supervise non-smoking areas are required to keep people informed of the restrictions and make sure there are no violations or they face a thb3,000 fine.

  • Thailand investigating hemp

    Thailand investigating hemp

    The Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) is considering planting hemp and processing it for use in consumer products, including cigarette papers, according to a story by Wichit Chantanusornsiri for the Bangkok Post.

    It is interested in other products, too, in particular hemp seed oil.

    Daonoi Suthinipaphan, the enterprise’s MD, told the Post in an interview that the TTM was seeking a partnership with the private sector to fulfil its ambitions in respect of hemp cigarette papers.

    The story said that hemp seed oil could be mixed into cigarettes to reduce the quantity of nicotine and tar residues, and that the flavor of cigarettes with such oil was similar to that of traditional cigarettes. And it said that hemp rolling papers did not burn when they were lit, which reduced the dispersion of harmful cigarette smoke.

    Daonoi said that the TTM had learned of the benefits of hemp rolling paper from overseas research and would conduct its own study before the rolling papers were manufactured.

    “Some smokers would prefer to buy imported cigarettes, but there is inadequate supply to meet their demand,” she said. “We hope to manufacture cigarettes that are less harmful to Thais’ health.

    “We have challenged ourselves to possibly produce cigarettes that do not have a negative effect on health.

    “We’re carrying out our own research study on the issue, but some doctors will still be opposed to our new products because they are against smoking.

    “We are starting at the question of whether we can lower nicotine and tar in cigarettes.”

  • Concern about TTM reforms

    Anti-tobacco activists in Thailand are urging the government to reconsider plans to relax its control of the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM), reports The Bangkok Post.

    In December, the cabinet approved a bill that would transform the TTM from a state enterprise under the finance ministry into the Tobacco Authority of Thailand, a juristic entity with the flexibility to conduct transactions.

    The activists fear the bill might allow international tobacco firms to gain control of the company and so increase cigarette sales.

    The bill allows foreigners to hold up to 49 percent of the shares in a company or a public firm producing tobacco. All plans to establish a tobacco company with foreign shareholding must be approved by the cabinet first.

    Suchada Tangthantham, an economist at the Thailand Health Promotion Institute, cited a World Health Organization report suggesting that the economic losses associated with cigarette smoking surpass the income that each nation earns from the tobacco industry.

  • Thailand sharpens tobacco law

    Thailand sharpens tobacco law

    Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) today passed the final reading of the Tobacco Control Bill, reports The Bangkok Post.

    The new law prohibits the sale or provision of tobacco products to people aged under 20, instead of under 18 as previously. Violators are liable to a prison term of up to three months and/or a fine of up to thb30,000 ($855).

    It also bans the production and sales-oriented importation of packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes. Violators can be fined up to thb300,000.

    The assembly unanimously endorsed the bill, which amends the Tobacco Control Act, with 202 votes.

    The NLA’s scrutiny committee deleted a clause in the bill that banned smokers from being appointed an expert member of the national tobacco control committee, to avoid discrimination.

    Jate Sirataranont, NLA member and head of the scrutiny committee, said the new law is expected to reduce the number of new smokers by 200,000 a year.

  • Health bodies in Thailand push for new tobacco laws

    Six key public health organizations and allies in Thailand on Sept. 17 vowed to support the new draft of the Tobacco Control Act and called on the government and the National Legislative Assembly to push this law through in an effort to protect the country’s youth.

    At an academic conference held in Chiang Mai province, the group also said that, as of Sept. 15, their campaign, which is available at www.vote4tobaccolaw.com, had received more than 12 million signatures. The groups behind the campaign—which include the Thai Public Health Club, the Mohanamai Network Foundation and the Health Professional Association of Thailand—expect to reach their target of 15 million signatures when the law deliberation is completed in six months.