- CAPHRA Urges Clarity on Regulations as Asia
Prioritises FCTC Compliance Over Consumer
Welfare
The Coalition of Asia Pacific
Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) voices concern
over Thailand’s Cabinet approval on 28 October 2025 of
amendments to the Tobacco Products Control Act B.E. 2560
(2017), targeting e-cigarettes. This follows Queen Sirikit’s
passing on 24 October 2025, amid a year-long national
mourning period. Such timing questions advancing major
policy changes without wider input during
restraint.
Anti-vaping groups proposed a total ban
to the House of Senators, which accepted it with minimal
scrutiny before forwarding to Cabinet. Cabinet then tasked
the Ministry of Public Health with leading a sub-committee
to develop solutions within one month.
Asa Saligupta,
President of Ends Cigarette Smoking Thailand and CAPHRA
member, highlighted the flaw: “This ignores our existing
committee and a prior Cabinet decision favouring balanced
regulation. Entrusting the process to those with clear
biases risks outcomes that sideline
evidence.”
Saligupta challenged the policy logic:
“Every day, 47 Thais die from smoking, yet the government
treats vaping—which carries no recorded deaths in
Thailand—as the greater threat. This is not science-based
policy.” He noted Thailand already has a prior Cabinet-level
blueprint favouring controlled legalization. “Rushing
through a total ban during national mourning demonstrates
either disorganisation or deliberate predatory timing,”
Saligupta added.
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Thailand’s plan ignores environmental
aspects. Refillable devices create substantially less waste
than disposables, yet no vaping-specific recycling
initiatives are mentioned. General e-waste rules apply, but
disposables lack dedicated programmes, worsening regional
pollution.
Saligupta proposed alternatives: “We
should transition tobacco farmers to growing for safer
alternatives like heat-not-burn devices. Revenue from
regulated vaping taxes could fund youth protection while
ensuring safe products replace black-market
alternatives.”
This echoes patterns in Malaysia and
Singapore, where FCTC adherence overshadows evidence-based
health strategies. Malaysia’s October 2024 Act 852 enforces
tight vaping rules without harm reduction, while Singapore’s
September 2025 ban imposes harsh penalties. CAPHRA sees
these favouring WHO FCTC Article 5.3 at the expense of safer
alternatives proven to help smokers quit.
Saligupta
concluded: “Asian leaders must choose between defending
ideology or lives. Thailand claims 71,000 annual deaths from
smoking are acceptable, yet criminalises a tool helping
people escape. That is policy failure masquerading as
protection.”
CAPHRA advocates tobacco harm reduction
in Asia Pacific for adults using smoke-free nicotine
products. It champions policies saving lives via regulated
alternatives, backed by evidence on falling smoking
rates.
