Smoking to be stubbed out on Thai beaches

BANGKOK: Smokers who flout a smoking ban on 20 of Thailand’s most famous tourist beaches will face a $3,000 fine or up to a year in prison, Thai authorities have said.

The ban, which comes into force in November, follows a clean-up of nearly 140,000 cigarette butts from a 2.5 kilometer (1.5 mile) stretch of the famed Patong beach in Phuket island province.