Vaper arrested in Thailand :(

[yappycat]

http://vaping360.com/vaper-arrested-thailand/

 

[scrumpox]

Their laws are clear enough, it's the arbitrary nature of enforcement that will be hugely frustrating ... people will be vaping, people will be selling vape gear, all flouting the law because nobody is being prosectuted and then suddenly one jobsworth policeman decides to take exception and make an example of a tourist. He must be nervous as fuck right now, not knowing whether he's going to be simply deported ... or fined or thrown in jail. An unforgettable holiday.

 

[yappycat]

Their laws are clear enough, it's the arbitrary nature of enforcement that will be hugely frustrating ... people will be vaping, people will be selling vape gear, all flouting the law because nobody is being prosectuted and then suddenly one jobsworth policeman decides to take exception and make an example of a tourist. He must be nervous as fuck right now, not knowing whether he's going to be simply deported ... or fined or thrown in jail. An unforgettable holiday.

I didn't realise their laws were so cut and dried tbh, I kinda thought it was just import/export/sale that they were down on. I came across this article while doing blog/personal holiday research and was quite shocked at how uncertain the attitudes and laws in some countries were as far as vaping was concerned. We were just planning a holiday recently and Vietnam was actually high up on our holiday wish list - that destination got struck off pretty quickly

 

[Badboybez]

I didn't realise their laws were so cut and dried tbh, I kinda thought it was just import/export/sale that they were down on. I came across this article while doing blog/personal holiday research and was quite shocked at how uncertain the attitudes and laws in some countries were as far as vaping was concerned. We were just planning a holiday recently and Vietnam was actually high up on our holiday wish list - that destination got struck off pretty quickly

Well, I have worked all over the world for the last 20 years or so.

We all moan about the bloody TPD / TRPR regulations that are in place here now, but in fact the UK has the most relaxed stance on vaping than most other countries.

There are even rumours of it being clamped down in China, and they invented it...........

 

[scrumpox]

I didn't realise their laws were so cut and dried tbh, I kinda thought it was just import/export/sale that they were down on. I came across this article while doing blog/personal holiday research and was quite shocked at how uncertain the attitudes and laws in some countries were as far as vaping was concerned. We were just planning a holiday recently and Vietnam was actually high up on our holiday wish list - that destination got struck off pretty quickly

I holidayed in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand a couple of years ago. Laws are one thing, enforcement is quite another ... at that time I barely saw another vaper, it was totally novel to them. Of the three Vietnam is the most open-minded and forward-looking but you don't do the crime if you can't do the time ... nobody fancies any time in a SE Asian prison. If you're not discrete and openly vape in public places you're really asking for trouble.

Well, I have worked all over the world for the last 20 years or so.

We all moan about the bloody TPD / TRPR regulations that are in place here now, but in fact the UK has the most relaxed stance on vaping than most other countries.

There are even rumours of it being clamped down in China, and they invented it...........

I agree, we don't know when we're well off sometimes.

China's a special case, as all the tobacco companies are state owned with substantial contributions to state coffers. Fags are ridiculously cheap so vaping is the preserve of the younger middle class. Vaping is tolerated because the Shenzhen companies bring in foreign currency, a lot of product is for export only. Education is key and there's a growing awareness of the health benefits there ... so there will be dynamic tension over smoking and vaping in the years to come. I found Shenzhen to be much more relaxed about vaping than Shanghai and Beijing as it's a special economic administration ... Hong Kong is even more of a special economic zone yet they clamp down hard on vaping, especially in public spaces. No one batters an eyelid if you vape in Shenzhen, but in Honkers you'll be stared at even though they're far more used to the strange behaviours of foreign devils. HK doesn't give a flying fuck about Big Tobacco they're more motivated by public health concerns ... but they're aligned with the WHO's view of tobacco control rather than a harm reduction strategy.

 

[yappycat]

I holidayed in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand a couple of years ago. Laws are one thing, enforcement is quite another ... at that time I barely saw another vaper, it was totally novel to them. Of the three Vietnam is the most open-minded and forward-looking but you don't do the crime if you can't do the time ... nobody fancies any time in a SE Asian prison. If you're not discrete and openly vape in public places you're really asking for trouble.

Do you think the change in attitude and laws/enforcement from when you visited a couple of years ago to present day, is because a couple of years ago the tobacco industry didn't feel quite so threatened by vaping? Because far fewer people vaped? Or perhaps they're both the same thing? Vaping unpopular = smug tobacco companies. Vaping popular = threatened tobacco industry leading to the overall demonisation of vaping led by money changing hands behind the scenes?

 

[scrumpox]

Do you think the change in attitude and laws/enforcement from when you visited a couple of years ago to present day, is because a couple of years ago the tobacco industry didn't feel quite so threatened by vaping? Because far fewer people vaped? Or perhaps they're both the same thing? Vaping unpopular = smug tobacco companies. Vaping popular = threatened tobacco industry leading to the overall demonisation of vaping led by money changing hands behind the scenes?

Cambodia, which is still a very backward country, banned vaping after I had returned, Vietnam was pretty neutral about it and it was already banned in Thailand though reports suggested it was not being enforced other than raiding and prosecuting stores ... sometimes, probably dependent upon who had paid the bribes demanded and who had not!
China's very good at changing public opinion very quickly, other Asian states are not ... the police were no more aware of vaping than the general public. Corruption is rife, it's deep seated so people pay less attention to laws and more attention to the generally accepted methods of avoiding prosecution.
Bear in mind that Thailand and Cambodia are the most corrupt, China less so, and Vietnam is far less.

 

[jay2]

well, F*** me, looks like you're safer going over there to sexually molest little kids. They didn't catch Gary Glitter that fast did they?
I am....I dunno. "appalled" just doesn't express it. I'm old enough not to be sursprised, but my sense of outrage doesn't diminish any.

 

[yappycat]

well, F*** me, looks like you're safer going over there to sexually molest little kids. They didn't catch Gary Glitter that fast did they?
I am....I dunno. "appalled" just doesn't express it. I'm old enough not to be sursprised, but my sense of outrage doesn't diminish any.

For what it's worth I fired off an email to the Thai tourist board as per the article's suggestion just to express my feelings about the countries stance on vaping. It won't make one whit of difference I'm sure...but the turn of the tide has to start somewhere:

Sent to: [email protected]​

It has come to my notice that a Swiss national was recently arrested in Thailand and charged with the use of an e-cigarette device in public and further accused of importing e-cigarette devices, Source: http://vaping360.com/vaper-arrested-thailand/

I smoked tobacco for almost 30 years until a year ago when I started using e-cig devices to give up the habit after watching my father die painfully from lung cancer. I have now been a non-smoker for over a year, I still use an e-cigarette but I am happier, healthier and I am no longer killing myself by smoking tobacco - e-cigarettes are PROVEN to be 95% LESS HARMFUL than tobacco!

As a UK citizen, and user of an e-cig device, I can no longer consider Thailand a viable holiday destination. Additionally I will be advising my friends and colleagues who use e-cig devices of the risks of visiting your country.

I sincerely believe that it is a disgrace that Thailand denies its own people the opportunity to give up smoking tobacco by using e-cigarette devices which are a far safer and cleaner alternative.

Thank you for reading, and I implore the lawmakers in Thailand to change their stance on the use of electronic cigarettes very soon. There are millions of people around the world who use these devices and no longer smoke. This number grows larger by the day, Thailand could potentially lose a lot of tourist revenue if it continues to uphold this draconian position.​

 

[vectis]

I read somewhere that the offence was selling vaping gear not using it.