BANGKOK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Thai police announced on Wednesday that the authorities had launched a crackdown on banned electronic cigarettes, seizing thousands of related items in the past three weeks.
At a press briefing held in Bangkok on Wednesday, the police displayed 600 vaping devices and 5,000 bottles of e-liquid estimated at 12 million baht (395,520 U.S. dollars) seized in its latest operation in an open market in downtown Bangkok.
The police said 10 people were arrested during the crackdown.
E-cigarettes have been outlawed in Thailand since 2014.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has vowed to retain Thailand's ban on e-cigarettes after several attempts by giant tobacco group such as Phillip Morris International in lobbying the Thai government to reverse a ban on smoking alternatives like e-cigarettes.
Thai health activists say vaping has lured more young people into smoking and addiction.
