All smoking rooms inside the terminals of Thailand’s six major airports have been closed since 3 February, 2019. The six airports are; Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai, all operated and managed by the Airports of Thailand (AOT). According to AOT, the move to close all smoking rooms is in line with the 2017 Tobacco Control Act. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health’s official announcement in November 2018, has also listed “public areas of airports” among several new zones where smoking of tobacco is prohibited. The new no-smoking zones at AOT-operated airports will carry a fine of up to 5,000 Baht.
Smoking is only allowed at designated smoking areas outside the terminals at the ground floor. The initiative forms part of Thailand’s proactive smoking ban, aimed at maintaining a clean and safe environment for all. Thailand became a party to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on 27 February, 2005. Since then, the country has become one of the world’s forerunners in the fight to ban smoking from public places. This include the recent smoking ban on Thai beaches.
