Higher Smoking Age, Tobacco Advertising Ban Approved

One of a number of government-mandated visual warnings which have been printed on packs of cigarettes sold in Thailand.

BANGKOK — The interim cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure to raise the minimum smoking age to 20 from 18.

The increase was approved along with a raft of related measures to effectively ban all forms of advertising for the industry.

It also expanded the legal definition of tobacco products to apply to electronic devices and water pipes known locally as barakoo.

For more than a decade, cigarette use has declined in Thailand through concerted private- and public-sector efforts.

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The measures will go to the interim legislature for adoption.

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