Thailand steps up crackdown on online e-cigarette smuggling
From March 2024 until March 19, 2025, the ministry blocked 9,515 URLs that sell or import e-cigarettes. Some 9,200 X accounts, 235 websites, 28 Facebook accounts, 12 Instagram accounts and 14 TikTok accounts were closed.
Thailand steps up crackdown on online e-cigarette smuggling. (Photo: Bangkok Post)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand's Mi꧋nistry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) has blocked over 9,500 URLs linked to e-cigarℱette sales over the past year.
This move is part of the government's intensified efforts to clamp down on all online platforms, including social media accounts and websites, being used for e-cigarette trade and smuggling.
From March 2024 until March 19, 2025, the ministry blocked 9,515 URLs that sell or import e-cigarettes. Some 9,200 X accounts, 235 websites, 28 Facebook accounts, 12 Instagram accounts and 14 TikTok accounts were closed.
The ministry also shut down 120 Facebook groups linked to e-cigarettes. Deputy government spokeswoman Sasikarn Wattanachan also said that the ministry used social listening tools and data monitoring tools and found 285 posts on e-cigarettes from sellers and 93 posts from buyers.
According to the Consumer Protection Act, those who sell e-cigarettes and related equipment could face a three-year jail term, a maximum fine of 600,000 THB (17,600 USD), or both.
Sasikarn said an importer could be jailed for at least ten years and fined five times the cost of the imported items. Buyers can also be jailed for at least five years and fined four times the cost of the items they had bought./.
Director-General Pinsai Suraswadi expressed concern that many young earners, including e-commerce vendors, influencers, and product reviewers, have never filed income tax returns.
Speaking to reporters before attending the weekly Cabinet meeting at Government House, Pichai said he will meet with the Thai Bankers’ Association to discuss ways to address the household debt burden, which is seen as a key factor hampering economic growth.
The article stressed that throughout his revolutionary career, the founder of modern Vietnam consistently regarded the revolutionary press as a vital part of the Vietnamese Party’s and nation’s revolutionary struggle.
Pichai said the trade talks with the US are important and need to move forward professionally, without regard for any political changes in Thailand, believing that Thailand has clear principles, guidelines and procedures in place.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
The proposed venue is located in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, featuring eight public sites, including Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal and several nearby parks.
Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Efforts to empower women must transcend dialogue and translate into concrete commitments, including corporate pledges and government partnerships, according to the spouse of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The forum featured two in-depth discussion sessions, engaging representatives from governments, think tanks, and businesses from both ASEAN and China, on how to forge closer ties for a common future.
The new FIFA Hub in Jakarta will not only support football development in Indonesia but also serve as a coordination centre for 21 football associations across Southeast and East Asia.
Minister Counselor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen reaffirmed Vietnam’s principled and consistent stance on the Palestine issue, calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire across the entire Gaza Strip.
PM Anwar Ibrahim affirmed the determination of Malaysia, as ASEAN Chair for 2025, to utilise all viable regional mechanisms of the bloc and work with partners to de-escalate violence and restore a peace process led by Myanmar.
Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925–2025), Nikulina, who is also a veteran journalist of Russia’s Sputnik News, emphasised the vital role of mainstream journalism in defending the truth and maintaining public trust.
