Actually the government wanted to sign the law last December. It's just that the officials had not prepared the documents to include bars and nightclubs in the bill banning smoking in hotel lobbies, but the minister was ready to sign them. |
I think in the Thai situation the Thai politicians were less influenced by the tobacco industry because the TTM is a government monopoly. Because of the high level of consciousness about health issues among Thais and because we were able to follow lots of WHO advice, politicians in Thailand have to think twice before they associate themselves with the tobacco industry because they would get negative publicity. |
We estimate there are four million less smokers than would have been without two decades of anti-smoking campaigns. |