Doctor Prakan Questions Govt's Reason to Amend Health Promotion Law
Dr Prakan Vatisathagakit of the Anti‑Smoking Foundation questioned the government's claim that it wants to amend the Health Promotion Fund Act because non‑communicable diseases are not decreasing. He warned that attributing the rise in NCDs to the act is dangerous and stressed that effective control requires joint action by many agencies, not just the foundation. He called on the finance, digital, health, police and other ministries to implement measures such as tobacco tax hikes, advertising bans and smoke‑free law enforcement.
Dr Prakan Vatisathagakit, chairman of the Anti‑Smoking Foundation, rejected the government’s explanation that it wants to amend the Health Promotion Fund Act because non‑communicable diseases are rising. He warned that blaming the act is dangerous and stressed that controlling NCDs requires cooperation across many agencies, not just the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. He outlined the foundation’s role as providing research, advice and awareness‑raising, while concrete actions — such as tobacco tax increases, advertising bans, restricting sales, enforcing smoke‑free laws and combating illicit trade — must be carried out by other ministries including finance, digital economy, public health, police, customs, commerce and interior. He also noted that Thailand has not raised tobacco taxes for five years, struggles with online cigarette sales, and lacks legislation to shield tobacco‑control policy from industry interference, despite WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3.
