Harm Reduction? "Phuket", Says Thai Army
When asked where they were going to carry out the next vape raid, the Thai army responded: “Phuket”.
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by Dave Cross
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In 2017, a Kuoni spokesperson said: “We encourage our customers to be travel aware and to visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Travel Aware site for foreign travel advice before they book. Travel Aware information can be found on our website and our Personal Travel Experts in store direct customers to the site at holiday planning stages for specific country advice, including safety and security, entry requirements, travel warnings and health.”
"...in Thailand sucking on your favourite ‘vape’, or even bringing them into the country, could put you in a Thai prison for ten years."
It came in response to Thai officials announcing: “You can’t bring vaporisers like e-cigarettes or refills into Thailand. These items are likely to be confiscated and you could be fined or sent to prison for up to 10 years if convicted. The sale or supply of e-cigarettes and similar devices is also banned and you could face a heavy fine or up to 5 years imprisonment if found guilty. Several British Nationals have been arrested for possession of vaporisers and e-cigarettes.”
"I got a message from my sister saying James had been arrested in Thailand because he had an e-cigarette. He managed to pay the policeman, who had told him he could go to jail."
Dang Chauysod is a great grandmother who sold eliquid and vape kit to help support her family. Officers of the Royal Thai Army stood grinning for photographs with her, before she was carted off to prison for breaking the strict prohibition on vape products.
Now the proud 5th Infantry Division has covered itself in further glory by storming into the home of Sonklin Janmamuang. The 37-year old woman was found in possession of 47 electronic cigarettes and 193 bottles of juice. Clearly this evil criminal was terrorising Phuket with her harm reduction products – in a country where ‘Quit or die’ is being taken in an even more literal fashion than other
Clive Bates commented: “Prison for e-cigs, but cigarettes are available everywhere. This is the work of so-called public health groups, but it is perverse, authoritarian and harmful all at once. I hope Mike Bloomberg isn’t funding it.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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