Cigarettes in Thailand - Cost of Import Regulations and Penalties

Cigarettes in Thailand are not cheap cigarettes. And by our standards good Thai cigarettes are the level of Russian budget tobacco products. Therefore, smokers who have already had to be on vacation or wintering in Thailand, be sure to take a block of cigarettes, so you do not have to buy local. Do not count on Duty Free, you can buy good cigarettes there, but they give the purchase only on departure, not before.

Thai tobacco companies put gruesome pictures of the consequences of smoking on cigarette packages, which you can see at the end of the article (not for the faint of heart).

The average price of cigarettes in Thailand is the same everywhere, as is the place of production. The tobacco products are imported from Malaysia. As for the price tag, a pack of good quality cigarettes at 7-Eleven supermarket chain stores starts at 110 baht. There are variants for 35-45 baht, but they are so low quality that even locals don’t smoke them very often. By the way, cigars in the country are also usually counterfeit, so you should bring them too. The Thais, by the way, try not to buy cigars, knowing their questionable quality.

Rules for importing cigarettes to Thailand

Thailand’s customs regulations allow no more than 200 cigarettes (or 1 carton) per adult entrant to be brought in duty free, if more, a fine of up to 5,000 baht.

Please note that if you and your wife, boyfriend, son-in-law … whatever, bring one carton of cigarettes each, they should be in separate bags, otherwise the customs officer will assume you are carrying one person, and you could be fined up to 10,000 baht!

To avoid having to try Chinese cigarettes, you can arrange in advance with non-smoking fellow travelers that they will carry a few extra packs in their luggage for you, but it is better to hand them back to the owner away from the eyes of customs officers. If you are caught doing so, a fine of up to 10,000 baht will be imposed.

You should not try to bring cigarettes in excess of your allowance. At best you will be asked to get rid of your excess cargo, at worst you will pay a fine. Both options are not a good start for your stay in the country. It is better to make do with a small supply or agree to smoke local cigarettes.

Limits for smokers in Thailand</h2

For more than a decade, smoking in Thailand has been actively banned. There are all kinds of restrictions and regulations for smokers. For example, special areas are created for smokers, and walking down the street with a cigarette in your teeth may be fined up to 2500 baht. Practice shows that Thais are not in a hurry to disappoint tourists in their hospitality and charge fines only to obvious violators who smoke in places not designated for this (stores, schools, hotel rooms and lobbies). Nor should you ask for an ashtray in closed restaurants, you will be asked to go outside to smoke.

Many people wonder if cigarettes can be smoked in Thailand in hotels. In most, alas, no. On the territory of the hotels there are separate areas for smokers, and in the rooms and on the balconies smoking is subject to a fine. Tourists often break this rule and smoke on balconies and even in rooms, but Thais are very tolerant to it and rarely resort to punishment. Hotels of medium price category are especially tolerant to inveterate smokers, there are even occasional smoking areas in such hotels.

Seeing how much cigarettes cost in Thailand, some will want to take out more packs of exotic tobacco products. But it will only do for souvenirs, smoking it few people would think. But keep in mind, more than two cartons of local cigarettes, regardless of price category, are not allowed to take out.

By the way, you can’t take out more than two cartons of local cigarettes, regardless of price category.

Attention! As of November 1, 2017, the Thai government has banned smoking on the beaches of all resort destinations. Now it will be possible to “smoke” only in designated places near the entrance to the beach. For violation of the law is punishable by a fine of up to 100 thousand baht. Also, in the near future it will be forbidden to smoke on boats and boats.

a little trick for a smoking tourist

Antitobacco law in Thailand

We all know that smoking leads to lung cancer and other known diseases, but that doesn’t stop anyone. Even the frightening inscriptions on Russian cigarette packs do not stop. That’s probably why the laws of Thailand oblige tobacco companies to put grisly pictures of the consequences of smoking on their products. It was not for the faint of heart, but the effectiveness of this idea increased several times. Under the article, we placed photos of examples of this solution, for obvious reasons, putting them into a spoiler.

Changes in Thailand’s 2017 anti-tobacco law

The National Legislature passed a bill in 2017 that increases the ban on the minimum age for selling cigarettes from 18 to 20. It also bans selling them by the piece. Violators face jail time of up to 3 years and/or a fine of up to 40,000 baht.

In addition, the law prohibits the manufacture and sale of imported tobacco products with packages containing less than 20 cigarettes. Violators face a fine of up to 300,000 baht.