The Thai government has approved the draft ministerial regulations of the Ministry of Education on student behavior, including new psychoactive substances such as electronic cigarettes and electronic shisha into the banned scope, and stipulates four-level punishment measures.
According to The Standard on January 7, Deputy Government spokesperson Karom Polpnglang, the Thai Cabinet meeting approved the draft ministerial regulations of the Ministry of Education on student conduct, which are related to the 2003 Child Protection Act.
At first, the law primarily prohibited students from having access to tobacco and other drugs. However, with the emergence of new psychoactive substances such as e-cigarettes and hookahs, these items pose a new threat to students. Therefore, the Ministry of Education proposes to add prohibited items, including e-cigarettes, e-hookahs, and other items listed under the psychoactive Substance Law.
For students involved in prohibited substances, the government has set four levels of punishment: warning, recording, deduction of behavioral grades, and participation in behavioral intervention activities.
As Karam points out,
- “The minister of education believes that we cannot take these items, so the relevant authorities must take action.” For example, if these items enter China through illegal channels, relevant law enforcement agencies need to be responsible for investigating and dealing with them.”
