Thailand parliament approves budget? Special committee's inspection of Chinese e-cigarette factories raises questions

Thailand parliament approves budget? Special committee's inspection of Chinese e-cigarette factories raises questions

Wanchat Suphachatra revealed that the committee is considering studying Thailand's laws and measures to control and regulate e-cigarettes, and plans to visit China's manufacturing factories and e-cigarette market. The move raises questions about the committee's performance of its duties, as e-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand.
[Two Supreme News] According to newsdirectory3 on April 18, Thailand's House of Representatives has approved a budget to support a special committee to travel to China to inspect e-cigarette production factories. The Tobacco Control Network expressed doubts about the committee's budget approval.

On April 17, 2024, Wanchat Suphachatra, director of Thailand's Smoke-free Society Health Expert Network and former president of the World Medical Association, revealed that the committee is considering studying Thailand's laws and regulations to control and regulate e-cigarettes. measures, plans to visit China's manufacturing plants and e-cigarette market. The move raises questions about the committee's performance of its duties, as e-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand.

"The committee should play its role in seeking measures to carefully monitor and enforce the law. Instead, it will travel to visit factories as if to promote sales and production in Thailand. This will damage the image of the committee and parliament in Thailand."

Naowarat Charoenkha, director of the Thai Institute of Health Promotion, said the committee must answer the question, what benefits would a visit to study the production and distribution of e-cigarettes bring? Because such tours are similar to those practiced by international tobacco companies, it often results in politicians, government officials, and the media traveling abroad to visit factories to promote the sale of these products.

"The Tobacco Control Network has taken note of the work of the committee and this has been mentioned. There are also people with links to international tobacco companies participating in the committee which is a breach of Article 5.3 of the WHO Tobacco Control Convention which prohibits interactions with tobacco companies Therefore, traveling to China to visit e-cigarette factories reflects the abnormality of the committee's operations, which is extremely inappropriate and goes against the World Health Organization's tobacco control principles."

Wit Kasemsap, director of the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center (CRC) at Ramadi University School of Medicine in Thailand, said the committee should study countries' enforcement procedures for e-cigarettes if the committee wants to know more , the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Digital Affairs should be consulted, and a representative of the World Health Organization could even be invited to provide information.