The National Legislative Assembly approved legislation to raise the minimum purchase age for tobacco products to 20 from 18 and outlaw the sale of cigarette packs containing fewer than 20 sticks, the Bangkok Post said.

The Tobacco Control Bill also bans sales of individual cigarettes and establishes a national panel on tobacco control, the newspaper said on its website. The new law should reduce the number of new smokers by 200,000 a year, according to one estimate cited by the Post.