Stakeholder's Assessment of the Awareness and Effectiveness of Smoke-free Law in Thailand

• Published in: International journal of health policy and management Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 919 - 922
• Main Authors: Kungskulniti, Nipapun, Pitayarangsarit, Siriwan, Hamann, Stephen L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Kerman University of Medical Sciences 01-10-2018
• Subjects: Analysis; Article 8; Awareness; FCTC; Government regulation; Health administration; Humans; Laws, regulations and rules; Original; Practice guidelines (Medicine); Public Health; Smoke-Free Policy - legislation & jurisprudence; Smoking; Smoking Prevention; Stakeholder Participation; Stakeholders; Thailand; Tobacco chewing; Tobacco products; WHO; World Health Organization; Thailand; FCTC; Stakeholders; Thailand; Article 8; WHO
• ISSN: 2322-5939; 2322-5939
• DOI: 10.15171/ijhpm.2018.47

This study reports stakeholders' ratings, and perceived gaps in World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 8 implementation in Thailand viewed against WHO's Guidelines for Article 8 and to inform action in preparing the 2017 Tobacco Product Control Act.
Stakeholder ratings of Guideline provisions of Article 8 on a three-tiered scale of implementation from understanding to effectiveness and efficiency were used to identify gaps in enforcement and compliance important to success in meeting Article 8 goals. This stakeholder assessment occurred through a stakeholder meeting of 55 stakeholders in Bangkok, Thailand in June 2016.
The average of all assessment ratings by stakeholders on an ascending 0-3 scale had a mean score of 1.67, which means the level of implementation for Article 8 in Thailand was rated less than effective for enforcement. The assessment shows that the public understanding of smoke-free principles is also poor at a mean of 1.28, that there is incomplete effectiveness of smoke-free measures with a mean of 1.75, and only a general effectiveness that smoke-free protections are adequately covering most places with a mean of 1.98. More needs to be done to make all places compliant through enforcement efforts rated with a mean of only 1, and that more is necessary for protection from tobacco-smoke exposure in other public places and in private vehicles with mean ratings of 1.71 and 1.14.
This stakeholder approach using a three-tiered rating scale found that the implementation of Article 8 in Thailand is still lacking. With this approach, stakeholders identified critical issues needing improvement and informed changes in the then-proposed Tobacco Product Control Act which later was adopted in 2017.