Academics Back Govt Spokesman’s Probe Into 2017 Tobacco Tax Loss
Academics are backing a government spokesman’s call to investigate who is responsible for the 2017 tobacco tax reform that has cost Thailand about 20 billion baht in lost revenue each year. They say the shift to a two‑rate tax allowed multinational tobacco firms to undercut prices, hurting domestic tobacco revenue and increasing illicit cigarette sales. Health experts warned at the time that multiple rates would create loopholes, but the Excise Department proceeded without sufficient health input and has yet to adopt WHO recommendations for a single‑rate tax.
Government spokesman Ekaphop Prianspes has criticised the 2017 shift from a single tobacco tax to a two‑rate system, saying it allowed multinational tobacco firms to cut prices to benefit from the lower rate and compete with Thai products, hurting the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, tobacco farmers and reducing state tobacco tax revenue while illicit cigarettes rose. On 5 October 2026, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roengsri Pattanawanich of Mahidol University’s Ramathibodi Hospital said the change has indeed caused problems, noting the state now collects just over 40 billion baht a year compared with over 60 billion before the reform, a loss of about 20 billion annually. She raised six points: whether the Excise Department consulted health agencies before the reform; why the reform lacked a health perspective despite earlier advice from health economists; why multinational tobacco companies publicly welcomed the new law with no opposition from farmers or retailers; why the Excise Department has not acted against firms that lowered cigarette prices despite having the authority; how WHO experts in 2018‑2019 urged a return to a single rate of 40% ad valorem plus 1.2 baht per cigarette and adoption of the illicit‑trade protocol, which has not been implemented; and why a ministerial rule that would have automatically switched to a single rate in October 2019 was delayed twice and the two‑rate system remained after a 2021 adjustment.
