In line with Thailand’s growing number of eco-friendly policies, a smoking ban has been introduced at 20 of its beaches covering many of the country’s popular tourist destinations.

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) stated that it had retrieved tens of thousands of cigarette ends left in the sand, which made up a third of all rubbish collected. Up to 138,000 cigarette remains had been collected by the environmental group over a 2.5km (1.5 miles) stretch of Patong beach in Phuket.

While smoking will be prohibited on the beaches affected by these measures, there will be “designated areas” where smokers will be able drop their litter in provided containers.

Thailand is initially implementing the ban on 20 beaches but said that if successful the measure could be uniformly adopted. Please note that there is a penalty for all violators.

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