THAILAND NONSMOKERS' HEALTH PROTECTION ACT B.E. 2535 (1992) Article 1 The name of this Act is the Nonsmokers' Health Protection Act. Article 2 This Act will be enforced after the date of announcement in the Royal Gazette. Article 3 (Definitions of Tobacco products, smoking, public places, operator, no-smoking area, appointed official, Minister.) Article 4 The Minister of Public Health has the authority to announce in the Royal Gazette: (1) the names or types of public places that shall protect nonsmokers' health; (2) specify the part or whole of the public places in (1) to be smoking or no-smoking areas; (3) set conditions and standards of smoking or non-smoking areas in terms of ventilation; (4) set criteria and methods of displaying the signs in smoking and no-smoking areas. Announcements (3) and (4) includes day, time, or time frame for operators to carry out their duty in time for the set deadline. Article 5 After the Minister announces Article (4), the operators must: (1) set a part or the whole of the public places to be smoking and no-smoking areas; (2) set the smoking area to have condition, appearance, and standard according to the Minister's criteria; (3) display signs in smoking or no-smoking areas according to the criteria and method set by the Minister. Article 6 No one is permitted to smoke in the no-smoking areas. Article 7 Appointed officials are empowered to enter public places that the Minister announces in Article 4 (1) and (2) between sunrise and sunset or during the working hours of those places to inspect or control according to this Act. Article 8 In performing their duties the appointed officials must show their identification card to those concerned. The identification cards have the form that the Minister announces in the Royal Gazette. Article 9 Operators and those who are related to the public places must render suitable convenience to the officials who are performing their duty according to Article 7. Article 10 In the operation of this Act the appointed officials are the responsible officials according to criminal law. Article 11 The operators who do not obey Article 5 (1) shall be fined not more than two thousand Bahts. The operators who do not obey Article 5 (2) shall be fined not more than one thousand Bahts. The operators who do not obey Article 5 (3) shall be fined not more than two thousand Bahts. Article 12 Those who violate Article 6 shall be fined mot more than two thousand Bahts. Article 13 Those who resist or do not provide convenience to the officials who act according to Article 7 shall be jailed not more than one month or fined not more than two thousand Bahts or be both jailed and fined. Article 14 For the violations of this Act the investigating officials have the authority to make a fine according to the criminal law. Article 15 The Minister of Public Health shall look after this Act and has the authority to appoint officials and make announcements according to the Act. (this Act is announced in the Royal Gazetter on 7 April 1992) MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (time announced in the Royal Gazette) 1st Appointment of officials (10 September 1992) 2nd Categorization of public places to protect nonsmokers' health (10 September 1992) 3rd Setting criteria for signs of smoking and no-smoking areas (10 September 1992) 4th Setting criteria for the identification cards of the officials who are responsible for the Act (24 September 1992) 5th Setting criteria for condition and appearance of smoking areas (24 September 1992) ------------------------------------------------------------ THE TOBACCO PRODUCTS CONTROL ACT B.E. 2535 (1992) Article 1 This Act is called the Tobacco Product Control Act B.E. 2535. Article 2 This Act shall be enforced one hundred and twenty days after the date of announcement in the Royal Gazette. Article 3 (Definitions of 'tobacco products', 'packages', advertisement', 'officials', 'Minister'.) 'Advertisement' means any act that enables people to see, hear, or know a content, for commercial purposes. Article 4 Nobody is permitted to sell, exchange, or give tobacco products to a person when he knows the buyer or taker is not older than eighteen years. Article 5 Nobody is permitted to sell tobacco products by vending machine. Article 6 Nobody is permitted to: (1) sell a merchandise or render a service with free premium, redemption, or free sampling of a tobacco product; (2) sell a tobacco product with free premium, redemption, or free sampling or exchange with other goods or services; (3) give or propose the right to see a contest, a show, a service, or any other right to the buyers of tobacco products or to the ones who exchange the packages of tobacco products. Article 7 Nobody is permitted to give free tobacco products as a sample or to promote the tobacco products, or to encourage the public to consume the tobacco product, with the exception of traditional practice. Article 8 Nobody is permitted to advertise tobacco products or to show the logo of tobacco products in printed matter, by radio, television or other media that can be used in advertisement, or use the name or logo of tobacco products in a show, a contest, a service, or any other action that intends to enable the people to understand that it is the name or logo of tobacco products. The above paragraph does not include direct live telecast from outside the country and upon tobacco product advertisement in printed matters that are printed outside the Kingdom with no objective of specific domestic distribution. Article 9 Nobody is permitted to advertise any merchandise which has a name or logo of tobacco products in any way that can be understood to mean tobacco products. Article 10 Nobody is permitted to produce, import for sale, or to distribute generally, or advertise any merchandise that has an appearance imitating tobacco products, cigarettes, cigars or packages of such products. Article 11 Only tobacco products with constituents according to the standard set out in a Ministerial Rule can be sold. Producers or importers have the duty to submit the list of constituents of tobacco products to the Ministry of Public Health according to the criteria, method, and conditions set out in the Ministerial Rule. In case a tobacco product does not have the constituents according to the standard set out in the first paragraph, the Minister is empowered to order a prohibition of sale or import of that tobacco product. Article 12 Producers or importers must show labelling on the packages of tobacco products before bringing out from the production site or before bringing into the Kingdom. The criteria, method and condition of labelling and the content of labelling is to be according to the Minister's announcement in the Royal Gazette. Article 13 Nobody is permitted to sell tobacco products that have no labelling on the packages, set according to Article 12. Article 14 In performing the duty according to this Act, the officials are empowered to: (1) enter into any place between sunrise to sunset or during working hours of that place, or enter into any vehicles to inspect in the case of suspicion of violating this Act; (2) take an appropriate amount of tobacco product as a sample for inspection; (3) send a letter questioning or asking persons to give a testimony, submit accounts, documents, or any other evidence for consideration. In performing the duty those concerned must render appropriate convenience. Article 15 In performing the duties for the Act, the officials must show their identification card to those concerned. The identification card is to be according to the form set in the Ministerial rule. Article 16 In performing the duty for the Act, the officials are to be officials according to criminal law. Article 17 Whoever violates Article 4 or Article 5 shall be jailed not more than one month or be fined not more than two thousand Bahts or be both jailed and fined. Article 18 Whoever violates Article 6, Article 7, Article 9, or Article 10 must be fined not more than twenty thousand Bahts. Article 19 Whoever violates Article 8, Paragraph 1, must be fined not more than two hundred thousand Bahts. Article 20 Producers or importers who do not submit the list, do not submit a complete list, or submit an incorrect list, or sell or import tobacco products in violation of Article 11, shall be jailed not more than six months or be fined not more than one hundred thousand Bahts or be both jailed and fined. Article 21 Producers or importers who violate Article 12 shall be fined not more than one hundred thousand Bahts. Article 22 Whoever violates Article 13 shall be fined not more than twenty thousand Bahts. Article 23 Whoever obstructs or does not provide convenience to the officials in performing their duty according to Article 14 shall be jailed not more than one month or be fined not more than ten thousand Bahts, or be both jailed and fined. Article 24 In the case that violators of Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, Article 7, Article 8 (first paragraph), Article 9, Article 10, or Article 13 are producers or importers, the violators would be punished two fold of those set in each offence. Article 25 In the case that violators be a legal organization the manager or responsible persons must receive the punishment for the offence, except it can be proved that the act of the legal organization is done without the knowledge or the consent of the manager or responsible person. Article 26 The Minister of Public Health is responsible for this Act and has the authority to appoint officials and set Ministerial Rules for this Act. The Ministerial Rules can be enforced after announcement in the Royal Gazette. N.B. 25 August 1992 Announcement appointing officials " Announcement of health warnings (this Act is announced in the Royal Gazette on 7 April 1992) ------------------------------------------------------------