Proposed Thai Laws for Vaping in Thailand

Me and my friends got stopped at a night checkpoint on Sunday morning around 2am on the Klongtoey intersection. We were traveling in a taxi and all everyone had to get out to empty our bags and pockets. I took my stuff out on top of the taxi and the copper didn't care about my e-leaf pico. I started joking with the cop in broken Thai, telling we work here etc. and he quickly lost interest in searching my stuff.

Another cop on the other hand got interested in my frieds' e-cigarette and started telling him it's illegal. I walked up to him, told him politely that I know the law and it's not illegal. He smiled and told me, "OK, explain me the Thai law". I smiled back and told him they are illegal to sell and import, but not possess. The cop replied that they are legal to use at home but not legal to carry with you in public. I replied, "oh we are sorry, we didn't know about this.. I actually just watched a high ranking cop tell on the TV that they're legal to have on you. You know, we just want to stop smoking cigarettes because they're very bad for your lungs." The cop laughed and let us continue our journey without any issues.

 

Thx for sharing your experience, you were quite lucky, either because you speak and obviously understand Thai or were so polite. It would be interesting to know when actually this high ranking cop was on TV telling officially, that its legal to carry vape gear with us, even in public. Perhaps you remember when it was?

 

You mean this one:

It was published on 29 July 2016

 

I think we were lucky too, because it would have been an easy way for them to get some money from us. Since we were just enjoying our night on our way to a club, I think if they had asked us for money we'd have just paid up. But I find that being nice with the cops can work, I had the same experience sometimes when breaking the traffic laws. E.g. I got stopped after using an underpass prohibited for bikes, but started telling the cop in Thai that I had no other option because it's a hot and sunny day and otherwise my skin will get brown! he laughed so much that he had to let me go

I also posted a few months back when I got hand searched on Soi 13 on NYE, police didn't give my mod a second look as he was looking for drugs. Would be a little ironic if he did though, because the market selling e-cig stuff is right next to their tent on Sukhumvit xD

ps. yeah that was the video I was talking about exactly. It can be good sometimes to pretend to know more because it's not suprising that Thai cops don't always know the laws themselves!

 

Successful exit from Krabi yesterday. Tank removed from mod and drip tip removed from tank.

 

Vape gear available from Lazada:

Have the rules changed and nobody told us? As far as I know, if you buy from Lazada, you also pay the tax.

 

They also sell poker chips on Lazada. They never arrive. Three times I tried to buy. Three times they give me a full refund because they cannot be delivered.


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The only possible reason for this is that they sell to other countries. I have ordered from them and received the item in 110V. If they were Thailand only that would not be possible. In fairness they managed a very quick refund.

 

You were lucky: not that you should have to rely on luck!

The trouble is that to some extent in Thailand the law is in the eye of the beholder. Yes, ultimately I think it could be bluffed out, but it's always best not to put yourself in a compromising position. And it's also best to buy yourself out of an arrest before paperwork commences.

It stinks- of course it does- but that's really the way it is!

 

There seem to be some exceptional outcomes of such a situation, imho...either you can communicate lets say, in broken Thai (which is almost impossible for tourists), or you always carry a lot of cash in your purse, which is also not common to carry with you, under normal circumstances. Having none of these, lets say, "advantages", you can be sure not to be that lucky as santaclaus.

 

Saw the below sign at an Air Asia boarding gate (international flight) at Don Muang a few days ago. Clearly making a big thing of no vape gear. I'm pretty sure though that behind the big red cross and the mod there's a power bank?? Have I missed something here, have power banks got banned along the line somewhere? Or I wonder if someone screwed up when making the notice.






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