Thai Beach Smoking Ban: 24 Beaches, Fine to THB 100,000

Smoking and dropping cigarette butts are banned on 24 named beaches in 15 provinces. Patong, Hua Hin, Bo Phut, Cha-am and Bang Saen are among them. Smoking areas that officials provide are the exception. Breaking the order carries up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to THB 100,000, or both.

By Vincent Nguyen and team

Lighting a cigarette on Patong or Hua Hin beach breaks a Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) order, unless you stand in a smoking area that officials provide. Dropping a cigarette butt breaks it too. The same order bans dumping waste and any act that damages the beach. Here are the beaches, the penalty and the order’s term.

The 24 beaches on the list

The DMCR order names 24 beaches in 15 provinces, from Trat to Trang. The Gazette printed 22 lines, and three lines name two beaches each.

Pattaya’s listed beach is Dongtan, not the main Pattaya beach or Jomtien. Ko Tao’s Chalok Ban Kao falls under Ko Pha-ngan district in the list. The list does not name Karon, Kata, Kamala, Chaweng, Lamai, Ao Nang or Jomtien.

The covered stretch of each beach is the one set out on the map attached to the order. The order counts as beach the strip from the normal high-tide line to the normal low-tide line, plus adjoining public sand or land reserved for shared use.

What the order bans on a listed beach

The order bans three things on a listed beach: smoking or dropping cigarette butts, dumping waste, and any act that damages or may damage the beach. Clause 2(1) is the smoking rule.

(๑) สูบบุหรี่หรือทิ้งก้นบุหรี่ บริเวณชายหาด เว้นแต่เป็นการสูบบุหรี่หรือทิ้งก้นบุหรี่ ในบริเวณพื้นที่หรือในสถานที่ที่เจ้าหน้าที่ หรือหน่วยงานราชการได้จัดไว้

(1) smoking or dropping cigarette butts on the beach, except smoking or dropping butts in an area or place that officials or a government agency has provided.

DMCR order, clause 2(1), Royal Gazette 13 August 2020 (editor’s translation)

The waste clause lists plastic, foam, paper, food scraps, cloth, wastewater, sewage, oil slicks, animal dung and carcasses. Dumping them is allowed at places officials have provided for it.

Who is exempt

The order does not apply to four kinds of activity:

• State officials working to protect, restore or conserve marine resources.
• Academic study and research permitted in writing by the DMCR Director-General.
• State projects for the public benefit.
• Anything concerning state security.

Penalty: up to 1 year or THB 100,000

Breaking the order carries up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to THB 100,000, or both.

The penalty comes from section 27 of the Marine and Coastal Resources Management Promotion Act of 2015.

ผู้ใดฝ่าฝืนหรือไม่ปฏิบัติตามคำสั่งนี้ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ตามความในมาตรา ๒๗ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติส่งเสริมการบริหารจัดการทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง พ.ศ. ๒๕๕๘

Whoever violates or fails to comply with this order faces imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both, under section 27 of the Marine and Coastal Resources Management Promotion Act B.E. 2558.

DMCR order, clause 7, Royal Gazette 13 August 2020 (editor’s translation)

The DMCR repeated the same range in October 2022. Both figures are “up to” limits.

Smoking areas and who enforces the order

Smoking is allowed on a listed beach in an area or place that officials or a government agency has provided. Walk to the provided smoking point before you light up.

The DMCR works on those points. In October 2022 it renewed two smoking points on Laem Set beach in Chanthaburi and told visitors that smoking is allowed only in the areas provided.

Local administrations and the officials of the relevant state agencies enforce the order within their own areas.

Is the ban still in force?

The DMCR published the current order in the Royal Gazette on 13 August 2020, and it stays in force for two years. An earlier order, published on 2 November 2017, took effect after 90 days and also ran for two years.

The DMCR still described the ban as binding in October 2022. The DMCR page speaks of the order in the present tense.

The two orders list the same beach areas, so the list above does not change between them. Treat the ban as applied on the listed beaches, and check the beach office for any newer order.

Beaches that are not on the list

The list does not name Karon, Kata, Kamala, Chaweng, Lamai, Ao Nang or Jomtien. The order covers the named stretch of each listed beach.

Vape rules are separate. See Thailand’s vape law for the import ban. For other fines tourists meet, see fines for tourists in Thailand.

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Not confirmed: A newer order after the two-year term of the 2020 order was not found. Ask the beach office or the DMCR before you rely on the fine at a specific beach. For beaches off the list, ask the beach office whether a local or national park rule applies. The order does not mention vapes.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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