Thai health experts are lobbying for stricter tobacco control laws to decrease teen smoking in the country.
According to research from the Tobacco Control Research Knowledge and Management Centre (TRC), 9.2% of Thai teens between the ages of 15 to 18 are smokers. An overwhelming 300,000 teenagers also take up the habit each year.
TRC Directir Siriwan Pitayarangsan said a new law is needed to deter underaged Thais from smoking. They are also pushing to raise the age limit for buying tobacco products from 18 to 20.
Srirat Lapyai of Rangsit University’s Communication Art Faculty conducted a separate survey among 2000 secondary students in a target group. 56% of the respondents said they bought cigarettes from underaged individuals as well. 79 % of the students buy cigarettes from stores near the school while 74 percent never showed ID cards to prove their age.
Lakana Temsirakulchai, who heads Mahidol University’s Health Education and Behavioral Sciences Department, stressed on the importance of raising the age limit of selling and buying tobacco from 18 to 20. She explained that teenagers feel more at ease about buying cigarettes from their peers.
Additionally, the health education expert said the revised tobacco products control act should also define restrictions on the online sale of cigarettes.
The revised version of the bill is scheduled for submission to the Cabinet by he end of 2012, the Bangkok Post reported.
In June, a Thai anti-smoking commercial featuring a young kid asking adults for a light went viral and jolted many Thai smokers into considering quitting.
