Thailand to ban smoking on 20 beaches to curb cigarette butt waste

Smoking will be banned on up to 20 beaches in Thailand after a massive amount of cigarette butts were found on the beaches, the country's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources says.

The ban, effective from November 1, will be imposed on popular beaches across Thailand, including Patong beach in the southern city of Phuket, the eastern city of Pattaya and Hua Hin and Cha Am south of the capital.

On Patong beach alone, more than 138,000 cigarette butts were found in September.

"Cigarette butts accounted for 30 per cent of the waste found," said Jatuporn Buruspat, the department's director general.

"This does not mean people cannot smoke at all. There will be designated areas for smoking on each beach away from the sea," Jatuporn added.

Failure to comply with the new regulation will result in a 100,000-baht ($A3850) fine and a maximum jail term of one year, according to the department.

The ban on the 20 beaches will serve as a trial run before all other beaches in Thailand could implement the no-smoking rule.

Images of a huge pile of garbage on a beach in Pattaya surfaced on the internet and made headlines in September, leading local officials to quickly clean up the beach.

Thailand is a popular beach destination, with the government predicting a total of 35 million tourist arrivals this year.