Thailand can sometimes feel like a very strange country as far as laws are concerned. There are a lot of laws in this country just like anywhere else but there seems to be very sporadic or even non-existent enforcement of these laws. For example prostitution is technically illegal here but Thailand is also known worldwide for being a place that openly advertises precisely this sort of business. They don't even try to hide it and almost everyone believes that this is possible purely because of corruption and even police ownership of the sort of businesses that engage in this sort of thing.
Lately, the Thai government has been talking about banning vapes or e-cigarettes due to the fact that they are appealing to teens, or so they think.
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For me, I don't have a problem with vaping and am actually kind of happy that it has become a thing and became popular. I am an ex-smoker and am really disturbed by cigarette smoke and especially ash trays, which I have always found disgusting even when I smoked. To me, vaping is far preferable to smoking cigarettes until you start to think about how damaging all of this plastic waste is, not that anyone really even considers that.
Now I mentioned in the title that the government is talking about banning vapes but here is the thing: They are already illegal. I find it odd that a country that is one of the only ones in the world to openly allow recreational marijuana use would be opposed to anyone vaping. The only thing that I can think of is that they are trying to protect their tobacco and cigarette manufacturing rich friends and therefore make vaping illegal. However, just like a lot of other laws in Thailand they aren't really enforced and it has recently been discovered that around 10% of teens vape or have tried vaping at some point due to "peer pressure."
I work part time in a high-school and it is evident that the kids are vaping in the bathrooms. There is no other reason for the hallways to all of a sudden smell powerfully like cherries or bubblegum. To me, I don't even try to bust the teens that are doing this because I know it is just a part of growing up or coming of age. I started smoking cigarettes when I was in high school and there is really nothing that adults can do to sway you away from doing this sort of thing if you want to. I think most sensible people grow out of it as they get older just like I did. You do things when you are a teenager that you stop doing when you become an adult. That is just the way of life.
The strange thing about the government talking about how they want to ban vapes is the fact that they are already banned and the fact that they are banned has very little impact on the availability of them. There are hundreds of online stores and even people that contact you via the LINE app trying to sell them to you. They are not at all difficult to get a hold of and anyone that wants them can easily do so.
Every now and then the police will do a "raid" and bust some small shop that is selling vapes but this is just so the police can get their pictures taken in order to pretend as though they actually do their jobs. The reality of the situation is probably that the police have known for a long time that said shop was selling vapes but the shop owner likely didn't pay enough in bribes to the police.
In my opinion vaping is far preferable to smoking cigarettes. Ciggies stink, vapes smell like fruit. I know which one I prefer and when the Thai government continues to posture against vape use, it just seems more evident that they are protecting the Thai cigarette market which makes a lot of people millionaires.