NO SMOKING in night venues coming soon BRAVO!

Smoking ban due soon - The Nation - 7th September 2007

Smoking will soon be banned in night entertainment venues, once a new Health Ministry regulation takes effect, a seminar in Bangkok was told yesterday. But Dr Seri Hongyok, a deputy head of the Department of Disease Control, said patrons of karaoke bars, pubs, nightclubs and cafes would still be allowed to smoke in designated areas.

"Smoking will be barred only in air-conditioned areas or in other public places where non-smokers are." The department would enforce a regulation under which violators would face fines up to Bt20,000.

He said there were now 10 countries that impose no-smoking rules in night entertainment venues.

Seri said the rule was needed to cope with new marketing strategies employed by tobacco companies to lure more young people to smoke, as there were about 200,000 new smokers every year.

A study by the department found the number of woman smokers aged 15-24 had risen to third place on a top-10 ranking of smokers in Thailand, he said.

The number of night entertainment venues, meanwhile, has risen to 6,853 last year from 5,249 in 2005.

Songsak Watthanaphoon, owner of a popular venue in Chiang Mai, said his premises imposed a ban on smoking three years ago and had won praise from customers with young friends or children. Smoking customers had suffered minimally, he said.

The Nation

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Smoking ban due soon - The Nation - 7th September 2007

Smoking will soon be banned in night entertainment venues, once a new Health Ministry regulation takes effect, a seminar in Bangkok was told yesterday. But Dr Seri Hongyok, a deputy head of the Department of Disease Control, said patrons of karaoke bars, pubs, nightclubs and cafes would still be allowed to smoke in designated areas.

"Smoking will be barred only in air-conditioned areas or in other public places where non-smokers are." The department would enforce a regulation under which violators would face fines up to Bt20,000.

He said there were now 10 countries that impose no-smoking rules in night entertainment venues.

Seri said the rule was needed to cope with new marketing strategies employed by tobacco companies to lure more young people to smoke, as there were about 200,000 new smokers every year.

A study by the department found the number of woman smokers aged 15-24 had risen to third place on a top-10 ranking of smokers in Thailand, he said.

The number of night entertainment venues, meanwhile, has risen to 6,853 last year from 5,249 in 2005.

Songsak Watthanaphoon, owner of a popular venue in Chiang Mai, said his premises imposed a ban on smoking three years ago and had won praise from customers with young friends or children. Smoking customers had suffered minimally, he said.

The Nation

Back are we wowpow,

Don't be so naive.

It will just become another selective escapade to extract money from those[ they feel] are not paying enough!!

Do you, as a sensible human being, believe all you read!

I have no objection if this is your "cut and paste" you abandon common sense in the headline!

I think they should ban musclemen, and charge a fine to every farang looking at them!,

q
goood!!!

G'night

[Wesley]

However, I would not presume to tell someone else how to live their personal life, or public one for that matter. It will only hurt business for bars that are already hurting. Keep it up and the slow season will be year round. Seems they are looking for any reason to rid Thailand of any tourist at all especially those who come for the sex industry and those who like to find a cool place to party. Soon it will be like England and civil rights and life as they once knew it will be a fond memory.

Wesley

[rincondog]

Wesley your message sounds like the tobacco lobby spiel. It will be bad for business, what a crock. It will not affect businesses at all. People will still go to the bars because thats where the boys are. You are correct if people want to put smoke into their lungs that is their business, however, they don't have a right to put smoke in my lungs because I have to breathe the air in the confined space. There has been no decrease in business in California where there has been a smoking ban in bars for several years now. It has probably increased business since many non-smokers wouldn't go to bars because of the smoke. Yeah, the smokers are slightly inconvenienced since they must go outside or to an outside patio to smoke. Smokers are more inconvenienced when they have to go through chemotherapy for lung cancer.

[Wesley]

As a non-smoker, I dislike the smoke as much as anyone, however I tend to be more in favor or personal liberties than my discomfort with the smoke. I guess you can put on the holier than thou attitude about it if you like but, I tend to be More likely to let people enjoy life even if it leads to their death. I have on more than one occasion left a restaurant rater than make a scene about someone Else's smoke. I tend to try to find a place that is non-smoking or has a non-smoking area to eat . However, I have seen when people drink they smoke as well, at least in Asia most of them do and I don;t see any need of forcing my way of life on them More than we already have. I just wash my clothes and hair and go to bed and forget that the whole place was a smoke out.


Wesley

As a non-smoker, I dislike the smoke as much as anyone, however I tend to be more in favor or personal liberties than my discomfort with the smoke. I guess you can put on the holier than thou attitude about it if you like but, I tend to be More likely to let people enjoy life even if it leads to their death. I have on more than one occasion left a restaurant rater than make a scene about someone Else's smoke. I tend to try to find a place that is non-smoking or has a non-smoking area to eat . However, I have seen when people drink they smoke as well, at least in Asia most of them do and I don;t see any need of forcing my way of life on them More than we already have. I just wash my clothes and hair and go to bed and forget that the whole place was a smoke out.


Wesley

As well Wes,

It then tends to be, where does it all end.

Once this is forced through let's move on to the next piece of legislation.

They are trying now to force every UK National AND visitor to have their DNA recorded on a database or be denied entry to the UK.

The UK per capita, has the biggest DNA base in the World already and more security/big brother camera systems, than any other Country, in the World.

Opponents are saying, that the only people who will not object to having their DNA kept on a database, will be decent law biding citizens, and the crooks and hoods will go out of their way and try everything to circumnavigate the system, so it will just become a massive drain on public money and resources and not actually help reduce terrorism or cut crime significantly.

We are all being tracked constantly already through our credit cards and purchases, it never seems to end.

I personally will go on a database, I know people who will find it an infringement.

Finally, back on topic. If legislation is passed on smoking in Thailand, as usual, it will not be for the public benefit.

It will be so the "boys in brown" have another way of extracting money through fines, while they themselves, as I have said before, sit and smoke in restaurants and air conditioned areas themselves!

That is the main point I was getting at.

It WILL hurt some bars.

Smokers also tend to drink more - see NHS stats.

And as everyone says LOS is so "quiet" any loss of custom hurts.

The actual results of businesses in countries where smoking has been made illegal is that there is an initial dip and then volumes return to those previously enjoyed within six months or so. The decline in numbers is in the Hospitals.

Cynics may think it will never happen in Thailand but they didn't think it would be banned in restaurants and it was with considerable success. Now many restaurants have no smoking inside and outside for the addicts.

The 'personal liberty' card is totally irrelevant and illogical here. I have no objection to people smoking themselves to death. What I do object to is their forcing their noxious fumes on other customers and staff. Similarly, I have no objection to anyone blowing themselves up but I do have to suicide bombers exploding in a crowded place.

[Marsilius]

Quote from Kevin Quill, above:

"They are trying now to force every UK National AND visitor to have their DNA recorded on a database or be denied entry to the UK."

Maybe this story got to Thailand in a jumbled form, Kevin?

A single judge made the suggestion and a government minister has since said that, while it is an interesting idea, the vast resources needed to carry it out are unavailable and so ruled it out.