Tobacco smoke is a serious global public health problem, particularly, among today’s youth.
In Thailand, youth smoking prevalence is high notably among the male youth and the last
survey conducted in 1999 by the National Statistical Office (NSO) indicated a prevalence of
12.4% for male and 0.02% for female, among the 15 to 19 age group. It is realized that
tobacco companies aim to replace their declining markets in Western countries by targeting
young people of Asian countries. Many public health experts have pointed out that youth
smoking rates rose as a result of aggressive marketing by the transnational tobacco companies
and Thailand is no exception.