Table 1

Pro-ENDS lobbying activities to lift the ban on e-cigarettes and actions of TC advocates between January 2017 and November 2019

Date	Advocacy group	Government agencies Pro-ENDS approached	Pro-ENDS activities	TC activities
January 2017	ECST	Office of the Prime Minister Ministry of Finance Ministry of Industry Ministry of Science and Technology MOC MOPH	ECST wrote and sought meetings seeking to lift ENDS ban, claiming ENDS were less harmful than combustible cigarettes and good alternatives for current smokers.122	ASH and BOT held a public seminar ‘E-cigarettes are more dangerous than you think’ that warned public about the new HTPs TTCs were marketing outside of Thailand, and predicted TTCs would fight Thailand’s ban.123
April 2017	PMI	Ministry of Finance MOPH Tobacco Authority of Thailand	PMI announced it was pleased to present its research findings about HTP to these agencies for Thailand to achieve a smoke-free society.96
August 2017	ECST	MOPH	ECST made a public proposal to MOPH to legalise ENDS.27
October 2017	ECST	Thai government	ECST launched a petition campaign on Change.org to change the status of ENDS from a banned to a controlled product.124
November 2017	ECST	Committee on Commerce, Industry and Labour of the National Legislative Assembly	ECST submitted its Change.org petition with 17 000 signatures asking for the right to use less harmful products than traditional cigarettes.125 126 As a result, in December 2017, the Commerce Subcommittee held two formal meetings with MOC, MOPH and ECST to review the ban on ENDS.127 In March 2018, Committee Chair General Singsuk Singpai suggested the government to consider both the risks and benefits of ENDS and recommended six options to control them128: The government should adopt a clear policy on the import and use of ENDS and may use ENDS as an alternative cessation tool. Ministry of Industry should set industrial standard conditions for ENDS devices. Thai FDA should set standards for the safety and quality of ENDS and refill containers. All sales and imports must be authorised by FDA and the products should be considered as drugs or medical devices. ENDS should be sold only at healthcare facilities and drug stores. The government should set up a registration system for smokers who are willing to quit and allow them to access ENDS. ENDS should be controlled, taxed and restricted similar to alcohol or cigarette products. ECST publicly declared that the Committee was convinced that ENDS should be controlled rather than banned, and mobilised support from its members to pressure General Singsuk Singpai.129	In January 2018, ASH issued a press release urging the National Legislative Assembly not to revoke the ban.130 ASH director Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit informed the public that the claim e-cigarettes were 95% less harmful was unreliable.130
September 2018	ECST	Office of Ombudsman Ministry of Sport and Tourism MOC	ECST submitted its Change.org petition with 40 000 signatures asserting that ENDS laws violated the rights of consumers to a less harmful product and claimed the ban would negatively affect tourism.131 MOC called a stakeholders’ meeting on 31 October 2018 to consider ECST’s issues.132 Participants included 54 representatives from 19 organisations, including 2 members from ECST and 4 TC advocates from ASH, TRC and ThaiHealth.133 ECST (Asa Saligupta and Maris Karanyawat), the director of the government’s Excise Department (Patchara Anuntasilpa) and the Federation of Thai industries (Dr Nilsuwan Leelarasamee) supported legalising ENDS.133	At the MOC 31 October 2018 meeting, ASH, TRC and ThaiHealth presented information to convince MOC and other agencies to continue the ENDS ban and opposed ECST’s participation in the MOC meeting on the grounds that it violated WHO FCTC Article 5.3, which commits parties to insulating public health policy decisions from the TI.133 The meeting concluded with a recommendation to form a working group to review the current laws on e-cigarettes.133 The working group consisted of MOC, MOPH, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Excise Department, Custom Department, Consumer Protection Board, Office of the Narcotics Control Board, Royal Thai Police, Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand and Tobacco Authority of Thailand.133 This was a victory for TC advocates who blocked ECST’s attempt to repeal the ban.
November 2018	ECST	Excise Department	ECST met with the director (Patchara Anuntasilpa) to support legalisation of e-cigarettes.134 The director announced, ‘The Excise Department is ready to tax ENDS to be a legitimate product because they are not a drug, not a weapon of war. However, in the past, MOC banned imports as proposed by MOPH that did not want people to use ENDS. This causes problems for both consumers in countries that smuggled these products for personal use. Importantly, it affects tourists who carry ENDS with them. This is becoming a bigger problem’.135
March 2019	ECST	Political parties: Bhumjaithai, Chart Pattana, Democrat, Thai Liberal and Thai Local Power	ECST met and submitted its Change.org petition supporting legalisation of e-cigarettes to parties’ representatives.136 137 At least three candidates for the Thai House from three political parties (Chart Pattana, Thai Liberal, Thai Local Power) appeared on ECST’s Facebook pledging to revoke the ban if elected.138–140
July 2019	PMI	MOC Excise Department	PMI met with these agencies and recommended revoking the ban claiming that its ENDS products would help Thailand tremendously reduce smoking rates.141	In August 2019, ThaiHealth held its first executive board meeting under new chair, Anutin Charnvirakul, the newly appointed Minister of Public Health. ThaiHealth and ASH planned to have ASH director Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit inform the new chair on e-cigarettes’ risks and problems in Thailand. After the meeting, the Minister announced he did not intend to lift the ban because e-cigarettes were harmful to youth.142 The next day, the prime minister also vowed to retain the ban on ENDS; he said, ‘Making decisions on this matter, the government cannot simply consider the economic impact. ENDS will also impact people’s health and an extra burden on healthcare budget’.143 The prime minister also ordered MOPH to educate people about ENDS’ harm and crack down illegal sale of ENDS.143
August 2019	ECST	Pheu Thai Party (as a core member of the seven opposition parties)	ECST submitted a letter opposing the ban after the prime minister and Minister of Public Health vowed to retain the ban.144	Public health communities issued a press release thanking the Minister of Public Health for supporting the ban.145
September 2019	PMI	Prime Minister and 10 Thai government representatives (Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment; Thani Thongphakdi, Ambassador to the United States; Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations; Distat Hotrakitya, secretary-general to the prime minister; Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Narumon Pinyosinwat, Government Spokesperson; Witchu Vejjajiva, Director General, Department of American and South Pacific Affairs; Vorawan Norasucha, Director, Thailand Board of Investment, New York Office; and Alongkorn Poonlabat, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives).146	PMI co-hosted a reception for Thai PM and representatives during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.146 PMI announced on its website that it wanted to engage UNGA’s participants to share its vision of a smoke-free society (ie, promote IQOS and harm reduction) and its scientific findings about its HTP.147 We do not know if there was a discussion about PMI’s plan to introduce IQOS to Thailand.

ASH, Action on Smoking and Health Thailand; BOT, Bureau of Tobacco Control; ECST, ENDS Cigarette Smoking Thailand; ENDS, electronic nicotine delivery systems; FCTC, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; HTPs, Heated tobacco products; MOC, Ministry of Commerce; MOPH, Ministry of Public Health; PMI, Philip Morris International ; TC, tobacco control; ThaiHealth, Thai Health Promotion Foundation; TRC, Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center; TTCs, transnational tobacco companies .