The tobacco crisis: illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes are spreading rapidly, focusing on cheap sales through online channels, causing a surge in new smokers and impacting government tax collection.
On 24 Sep 2026 GMT+7, Dr. Chayanan Sithibus, a senior preventive medicine physician and acting director of the Tobacco Product Control Committee under the Department of Disease Control, stated that data from the National Statistical Office reveals a worrying trend. In 2021, there were approximately 78,742 e-cigarette smokers aged 15 and older; by 2024, this number had surged to 995,447 (nearly one million). The main causes are widespread online sales channels nationwide combined with lower prices, with some products priced as low as just over 90 baht per unit, making them easily accessible to children and youth.
Besides e-cigarettes, “illegal cigarettes” further complicate tobacco control. Increasing taxes to reduce demand has inadvertently opened the door for cheap illegal cigarettes to infiltrate the market, affecting the economic structure. Currently, tobacco tax revenue is about 50 billion baht annually, while economic losses amount to 352.6 billion baht per year—6.8 times higher than collected tax revenue. Direct costs (medical treatment and travel) are about 59 billion baht annually, while indirect costs (lost time, absenteeism, premature death) reach approximately 293.6 billion baht per year.
Dr. Chayanan also warned that illegal cigarettes are more dangerous than regular ones due to lack of standards, unknown origins, and possible contamination with additional toxins. To address this systematically, the government, led by the National Tobacco Control Committee chaired by the Minister of Public Health, is advancing a strategy with three main approaches: raising public and youth awareness of the dangers of all tobacco products and commercial tactics; strictly cracking down to block illegal tobacco with cooperation from transportation sectors and online platforms; and updating laws to be modern and effectively enforceable.
Discussions are also underway with the Ministry of Finance and Excise Department to restructure tobacco taxes from a two-tier to a single-tier system, aiming to find the optimum point to reduce consumption and increase tax revenues. Regarding the "birth year cigarette" measure (banning cigarette purchases for people born from a specified year onward for life), Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is currently conducting a comprehensive feasibility study, considering readiness for combating illegal cigarettes and mitigation measures for affected groups such as tobacco farmers.
The Department of Disease Control emphasizes that solutions must combine enforcement and treatment. Currently, Cytisine, produced by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) and listed in the National Essential Medicines List, is available to help smokers quit but public awareness remains limited.
“Today, cigarettes are easily available even in convenience stores, yet smoking cessation products are harder to access. To seriously reduce the number of smokers, access to cigarettes must be controlled alongside making cessation drugs and tools affordable and easily accessible,” Dr. Chayanan concluded.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and ThaiHealth Fund Chairman Somsak Thongdee approved the 2027 operational plan focusing on provincial-level health promotion in collaboration with governors and local administrative organizations. Using health data, model areas (sandboxes) will be created to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and health risk factors. Dr. Pongthep Wongwatcharaiphai, ThaiHealth Fund manager, revealed key goals for the year include establishing over 2,000 model communities to combat NCDs, enhancing health literacy, reducing tobacco-related risky behaviors among children and youth, promoting e-cigarette-free schools, and advancing sustainable public health policies nationwide.