Officials have assured the public that signs will be posted at Surin Beach to warn tourists and other visitors to not smoke on the beach and to not drop their cigarette butts on the sand.
Local tambon chief MaAnn Samran said he was unaware of how bad the problem of cigarette butt litter at Surin Beach was until he recently saw photos of how many butts had been picked up by a citizen at the beach in just 30 minutes earlier this week.
“Thank you for informing us. It is not correct to drop butts on beach. It makes the beach look dirty,” MaAnn said on Friday.
“Today I asked officials here to contact Patong Municipality and have four warning signs made in the same design as used at Patong. The signs will be installed as soon as we can,” he added.
Any persons caught breaking the law face a fine of up to B100,000 or even up to a year in jail.
However, Surin is not one of the 24 beaches around the country that have outlawed smoking completely on their beaches under laws enforced by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR). The only Phuket beach involved in that ban is Patong. MaAnn confirmed their will be no penalties enforced on those found smoking on or littering on Surin Beach.
“As we have no law to enforce like at Patong Beach, we can only post warning signs and ask for people’s co-operation. We will also set up two smoking areas to encourage people to smoke there and not on the beach,” he added.
Story: The Phuket News
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