Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s National Health Commission Office (NHCO) has agreed on five principles to prevent e-cigarette use among children and adolescents, as studies show that the earlier a person starts using tobacco, the higher the chance of developing an addictive lifelong habit is.
Young people are a major target of e-cigarette companies, and they can easily become new smokers, facing both short- and long-term health risks, Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who is also the NHCO chairman, was quoted by local media as saying. Thus, the commission is pushing to exercise the most effective measures possible to ban both the import and trade of e-cigarettes, he said.
The five measures agreed upon include managing the information regarding tobacco use, creating awareness of the associated dangers, monitoring and enforcing e-cigarette control laws, developing a partner network to combat the spread of e-cigarettes, and supporting policies and measures to prevent and suppress their use.
He went on to say that they will submit this resolution for the cabinet’s approval and hope that related agencies will take action based on the framework.
The official also affirmed that the suppression of e-cigarettes is a key policy of the government, given the growing concern over how susceptible children are to messages encouraging them to try the devices.
According to Suwanna Ruangkanchanasetr, chair of the public health policy development (e-cigarette control) committee, said vape use among minors in Thailand is getting worse.
The nation’s valuable resources should be protected from dangerous environments and health threats, she said, adding that the toxicity of e-cigarettes has been confirmed by the World Health Organisation. She urged the government to maintain its policy to ban the e-cigarette trade in Thai territory, adding that legal action should be enforced against wrongdoers./.
