Schools told to screen students for vapes

BANGKOK: The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) will impose strict measures, such as searches of personal belongings, to crack down on vapes in schools following a “surge” in the number of students using them.

E-cigarette liquid bottles of various flavours are seen at a store in Bangkok. They were later seized by the Customs Department, as e-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand. Photo: The Customs Department

Thee Pawangkanan, deputy secretary-general of Obec, said the government is concerned that students aged 13–15 are increasingly using e-cigarettes, reports the Bangkok Post.

There have also been cases of vape use among first graders aged between 6 and 7, he said, noting they are considered to be the youngest smokers.

Mr Thee said this worried the authorities, so Education Minister Permpoon Chidchob, Deputy Education Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul and Obec secretary-general Thanu Wongjinda assigned him to address the problem.

Obec, he said, will develop strict measures to curb the problem by increasing awareness of the dangers of e-cigarettes among teachers, students and parents.

Vapes are made to look like cartoon character figures and they smell fruity, which could mislead parents, teachers and students into thinking they are safe to consume, he said.

Records have shown that vapes can severely damage the lungs, he added.

“We are highly concerned and would like to ask for the parents’ help in looking into the matter,” he said.

“Even though regular cigarettes or e-cigarettes are not categorised as drugs, we would like the children to be aware of the dangers of using them,” he said.

One of the measures Obec is looking to employ is searches of students’ bags before they enter classrooms to screen for illegal and inappropriate objects, including e-cigarettes, he said.

He said the measures will be imposed at schools starting on May 15, the first day of the new term, to prevent dangerous and illegal goods in products.

Meanwhile, Phantong Loykulnanta, principal adviser on duty collection management and development at the Customs Department, said yesterday the department arrested a total of 211 smugglers of cigarettes and vapes worth B34.11 million in total into the country between Mar 1 and Apr 5.

He said he has told the Customs Department’s officers to be strict about cracking down on violators as per Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s policy against the smuggling of cigarettes and vapes into the country, which remains a persistent problem.