The government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against teachers and educational staff found involved in promoting e-cigarette use among the young.
Education personnel should be aware of the health risks and legal consequences of e-cigarette use, the Ministry of Education said in a recent announcement.
School administrators must ensure that students, teachers and staff do not use, possess or distribute e-cigarettes, and disciplinary action must be taken against those found violating the policy, said Karom Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesman.
Mr Karom said the announcement is in line with the Ministry of Commerce ban on imports of baraku and e-baraku, and a Ministry of Public regulation that designates schools, workplaces and public transport as smoke-free zones.
Between Feb 26 and March 12 this year, legal action was taken in 1,078 cases involving 1,104 suspects, with 900,444 e-cigarettes and related items worth nearly 119 million baht seized.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra recently vowed to get tough on e-cigarettes, calling them “the people’s big misery”.
Ms Paetongtarn expressed satisfaction with the efforts but noted that cross-border smuggling of vaping gear was still a challenge.
As well, she said, the ease of purchasing vaping materials via social media was still a problem despite over 9,000 online sales channels having been closed down recently.
