I don't smoke so it is impossible for me to understand the need that some people have to smoke or to vape. It is a very widespread thing in SE Asia though and a lot of that has to do with the fact that vapes and cigarettes are very cheap and accessible. You are also allowed to smoke almost anywhere that you want. When vaping hit the scenes a few years ago, a lot of people transitioned away from cigarettes and towards vaping and to me, this was an improvement because I would much rather smell strawberry or some of the fruit smell than that awful ashtray stink that comes along with traditional cigarettes.
Well not that long ago the Thai government just up and decided that vaping was going to be illegal and they had their reasons. Reasons that I believe are bullshit disguised as being interested in public health.
Their official reason was that vapes were encouraging youth smoking but if you live here you already know that SMOKING was already encouraging youth smoking and the real reason was likely that the Thai tobacco monopoly, which is literally called the Thai Tobacco Monopoly was taking a financial hit because people were starting to not purchase cigarettes and instead were buying vapes, which they do not produce and I presume were unable to transition to making.
So just like any corrupt society in the world, rather than adapting with the times they simply made the "new way" illegal.
The problem with this new law was the same thing that comes along with any law that they pass and that is enforcement. Sure, they can go ahead and stop imports from official channels but that just encourages the black market. Vapes were available for purchase long before the government granted import licenses and once they were available at stores, the prices and quality just increased. Once they were made illegal, the availability of them simply went back to the black market, which is alive and well in Thailand whose borders are likely controlled by China anyway.
Again, I never vaped aside from trying one that had weed in it a couple of times, so I can't really relate to the smoker's struggle but it was a lot more convenient for these people when the vape shops started popping up all over the place.
It is quite easy to sneakily vape somewhere, much easier than lighting up a cigarette or joint, so this was always going to be difficult for them to enforce. They couldn't enforce it actually so they have created a "snitch" program to create incentives for the population to turn on themselves. The informants, who could be anyone, are now offered 60% of the fines if they are collected against anyone who is selling vapes or even an individual that is using them.
This will likely be effective but I don't like that it is happening since it is so transparent that the government doesn't actually give a damn about public health because if that was TRULY their goal, they would limit or outright ban smoking. They would never do that though because a lot of (primarily men) Thais smoke cigarettes and they would revolt. That doesn't concern the government though: The real problem would be that doing so would negatively impact the bank account of the very wealthy families that control the tobacco market in this country.
It's a shame that this is the way that things are, but honestly, this snitch program could actually be very effective if the people take part in it. The only way it will fail is if the police don't follow through with their promise of sharing the fine - which is something that is always going to happen.
Police in this country are notorious for being corrupt and greedy and that is why it is such a sought-after position to be a police officer in Thailand. It brings great pride and a sense of security when a family has a police officer in it, because they know that they will be protected from laws that affect people that do NOT have a police officer in it. I think about cops back in my home country and realize that this is not a very sought-after position but here, it is one of the best jobs that you can possibly have.
So if you are traveling to Thailand and somehow manage to get a vape through customs, just know that you will be watched and especially as a foreigner they will likely levy a huge fine against you if you are caught using it.