Thailand campaigns to ban duty free tobacco products
BANGKOK – Cigarettes and tobacco products will not be available in duty-free shops worldwide if a new anti-smoking protocol proposed by Thailand is approved in principle at an international convention to be held in Bangkok later this month.
The Nation newspaper reports that Public Health Minister Mongkol Songkhla is behind a campaign to make cigarettes and tobacco products sold in duty-free shops around the world subject to customs duty.
The proposal also bars international advertising of cigarettes on online media and local visual media, including billboard displays or through promotional campaigns or sponsorship events.
As a result, websites featuring or advertising cigarettes will be blocked – in Thailand.
All conditions will be enforced globally if the protocol is approved by the 161-country committee during its meeting from June 30 to July 6, and eventually passed by the so-called Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
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