Thailand

Project and Country Background

Thailand has a population of 68.1 million people; 20.7 percent of the adult population and 15 percent of the youth population smoke tobacco products.1 An estimated 77,090 people die in Thailand each year from diseases caused by smoking.2

TPackSS worked with in-country collaborators to purchase cigarettes from three major cities: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai. Within each city, packs were collected from a sample of 12 economically and socially diverse neighborhoods. Data collectors purchased one of every unique cigarette pack available from vendors selected in each neighborhood. From December 10 to December 25, 2013, data collectors purchased 126 unique cigarette packs. Then from September 7 to September 19, 2015, data collectors purchased 111 unique cigarette packs.

The tobacco packaging and labeling requirements in effect at the time of data collection were used to assess each tobacco pack’s compliance with the requirements.  

Suggested Citation for Information on this Page: Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS). Thailand: Project and Country Background. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://globaltobaccocontrol.org/tpackss/country/thailand [Insert Last Updated Date].

Thailand has been a leader in cigarette package warning labels and was one of the first countries to implement pictorial health warnings.
Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids Global Epidemic

Browse packs from Thailand

Highlights of Packaging and Labeling Requirements by Data Collection Year

Data collection dates Type of warning Warning label size and layout Number of warnings to be displayed Rotation Rules for misleading descriptors Other warning label requirements considered during coding

Dec. 10 to Dec. 25, 2013

[126 unique packs collected]

Picture
55% of front, 55% of back

10

Required, but unknown

Some restrictions

Warning placed on top left of the front and back of pack. Warning text paired with specific pictorial warning. Statement on toxins and carcinogens must appear on 50% of each side of the pack.

Sept. 7 to Sept. 19, 2015

[111 unique packs collected]

Picture
85% of front, 85% of back

10

Required, but unknown

Some restrictions

Warning in the upper portion of the front and back of pack. Warning text paired with specific pictorial warning. Statement on toxins and carcinogens must appear on 60% of each side of the pack.

Tobacco packaging and labeling in Thailand is regulated under the Tobacco Products Control Act, B.E. 2535. Tobacco Products Control Act, B.E. 2535 was passed in 1992, and a series of subsequent notices between 2009 and 2011 established health warning label regulations for various tobacco products. The Rules, Procedures and Conditions for the Display of Images, Warning Statements, and Contact Channels for Smoking Cessation on Cigarette Labels of 2013 supersedes the prior law enacting 85 percent pictorial coverage.3 

  1. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, Country profile Thailand. (2017). Retrieved October 25, 2018

    from http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/policy/country_profile/tha.pdf.

  2. Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017) Results by Location, Cause, and Risk Factor. Retrieved November 29, 2018

    from http://ihmeuw.org/4noq.

  3. Tobacco Control Laws Country Details for Thailand: Packaging and Labeling. (2015). Retrieved April 21, 2016

    from http://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/thailand/pl-health-warnings.