The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) endorsed a study from Asa Saligupta, director of ENDs Cigarette Smoke Thailand, that supports vaping as a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes.
Data reported by the Bangkok Post indicate that while combustible cigarettes are linked to approximately 71,000 deaths annually in Thailand, there have been no recorded deaths related to e-cigarette use in the country.
CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas stated in a release that, “The evidence from Thailand mirrors what we’ve seen across the Asia-Pacific region—policies driven by misinformation rather than science are costing lives.”
Loucas cited Public Health England’s conclusion that vaping is about 95% safer than smoking as a scientific basis for harm reduction policies.
While acknowledging concern about youth access to vaping products, Loucas emphasized that restrictions on marketing are preferable to a total ban. “We support restrictions on marketing to young people, but banning products that could save millions of adult smokers from premature death is neither sensible nor effective,” she said.
Critics note that while conventional cigarettes remain widely available in Thailand, vaping products continue to be prohibited. CAPHRA urges policymakers to consider a regulatory approach that would allow adult smokers access to vaping products as part of a comprehensive harm reduction strategy.
