Scrivener.net

Tuesday, January 04, 2005


"Donating cigarettes to monks is a sin." -- new cigarette warning label.

Cigarette packs in Thailand may soon carry more than the usual health warnings, with an edict admonishing the public not to give Buddhist monks a smoke.

The new label, proposed by the head of Thailand's National Buddhism Office, will read: "Donating cigarettes to monks is a sin." Chakratham Thammasak said he would ask the public health ministry to go ahead with the change.

In Thailand, like most Buddhist countries, the public donates food and money to monks, but smoking among the Buddhist clergy is generally frowned upon... [AP]