The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has prohibited the sale of individual cigarettes to deter youth access to tobacco.
The Department of Disease Control’s (DDC) Director Gen. Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk said the MOPH introduced the legislation to ban the sale of individual cigarettes, which was approved by the National Legislative Assembly, to prevent access to tobacco by children and youths.
According to data from July of 2016, 93 countries across the globe have enacted laws preventing individual cigarette sales, while a 2011 survey from the National Statistical Office shows that 88.3 percent of tobacco consumers in Thailand aged 15-17 years old started smoking by purchasing individual cigarettes, reported Thai News Bureau.
The prevention of individual cigarette sales will help non-regular smokers to quit smoking as well since many would rather buy an individual cigarette than an entire pack if they aren’t heavy users.
Thailand has one million non-regular smokers, according to the DDC.
Medical research shows that access to individually sold cigarettes makes it more difficult for people to quit smoking since they can easily and cheaply buy cigarettes whenever they wish to smoke, even if they might not have enough money to purchase a whole pack.
