Thailand will become the first country in Asia to adopt tobacco plain packaging and the 16th in the world after Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, Hungary, New Zealand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Canada, Uruguay, Slovenia, Belgium, and Israel.
Effective 12 September, all cigarettes will come in standardized drab brown packs with cigarette brand names printed in a standardised font type, size, colour and location, without logos or other branding features. Initiated by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, the move is aimed at reducing tobacco consumption in the Kingdom.