Thailand to ban duty-free tobacco displays - UPDATE

Gavin Lipsith

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

The country has ruled that displaying tobacco products in duty-free stores violate a national law against tobacco advertising passed in 1992, according to the Bangkok Post

Thailand's duty-free stores could the latest Asian country to face a ban on duty-free tobacco shelf displays, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.  The article claims that the national cigarette display control panel has ruled that the outlets are not exempt from the country's 1992 tobacco control act, which came into effect last September and bans tobacco advertising.

Department of Disease Control chief Saman Phutrakul was cited as saying that the way duty-free stores display tobacco is considered as advertising under the 1992 law, and therefore banned. The ban will take effect as soon as it is approved by the national committee on tobacco control, said Saman.

The move is the latest in a string of anti-tobacco measures taken against retailers in Thailand. Last year the local franchisee of convenience store 7-Eleven was forced to take tobacco products off its shelves as part of the enforcement of the tobacco control act.

A source familiar with the issue told DFNI Asia that he thought it was unlikely that a ban would be put into force at outlets operated by the country's largest retailer, King Power International (Thailand). "I cannot verify the reports," he said, "although if they are true I would expect a lengthy discussion before any final decision is made, and my view is that it will not eventually happen."

An industry campaigner added: "This has come as a surprise and we are currently trying to obtain independent confirmation from our sources. We do know that tobacco displays were removed in arrival shops when the new interpretation of the advertising ban was adopted last year but we understood that duty-free shops selling to departing passengers would be exempt."