A new law in Thailand bans smoking at home in a bid to reduce deaths caused by second-hand smoke, Bangkok Post reported.

The law, which will come into effect on 20 August, will give smokers 90 days to kick the habit that puts relatives living under the same roof at serious health risk, according to the 2019 Family Development and Protection Act. Those who violate the law may be sentenced either before the juvenile or criminal court. While no penalty has been determined yet, the court may order violators to stop smoking in the house and/or undertake a course to quit smoking. It is not clear how the law will be enforced, the report said.
“Last year 8,278 people died of second-hand smoke,” Ronnachai Khongsakon, chief of the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Centre, was quoted as saying. A study found that nearly 33 per cent smoke at home and that nearly 74 per cent smoke every day. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 54,512 people died of smoking-related diseases in 2018.