Why the tobacco and alcohol tax?

The tax was chosen because tobacco and alcohol substantially increase risk of morbidity, mortality and create a high disease burden. Also the Government collects huge taxes and non-tax revenue from both products. These 'sin taxes' are an appropriate source of revenue for innovative projects and activities to promote public health.

How is the tobacco and alcohol levy defined and collected?

The levy is a special tax imposed on alcohol and tobacco. The producers of both products have to pay a 2% extra excise duty stamp. Before, producers were paying a 30% excise duty. So if their products were valued at 100 baht, they would have been paying a 30 Baht duty. After the ThaiHealth Bill was enacted, the producers pay an extra 2% levy, which in the case above would result in an extra 0.6 baht, or a total of 30.6 baht. The 2% excise tax is only imposed when the products are on sale. Producers do not pay the tax if their products are in their factories. The producers have to buy the excise duty stamps from the Excise Office (under the Minister of Finance) and place them on the top of each bottle of alcohol or pack of cigarette. The levy is therefore collected when the producers reports to the excise office. They must report how many units of alcohol or tobacco they distribute to dealers and wholesalers. The excise offices send daily summary reports to ThaiHealth and directly transfer the collected tax to ThaiHealth's account, without going through any central account. For imported products, The Customs Department will collect the tax for ThaiHealth. At the end of the month, the ThaiHealth Finance Department crosschecks the total amount transferred from the Customs Department and The Excise Department How was the Government and Ministry of Finance (MOF) persuaded to found the organization and allocate 2% of the tobacco and alcohol tax? The CEOs of successful health promotion foundations, such as VicHealth in Australia, were taken to meet the Minister of Finance to brief him on the benefits of having such a fund. A report was also submitted with the proposed act indicating both the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a health promotion foundation. Many highly respected social leaders collaborated with and supported ThaiHealth. Dedication and effort were key factors in establishing the fund, as is evident in the work of the ThaiHealth founders Prof. Prakit and Dr. Supakorn.

What difficulties has ThaiHealth encountered during its early years?

The first challenge has been in to shift Thai people’s focus from simply “health” to a broader consideration of “well-being.” Effective fund management and implementation has also been a challenge because of ThaiHealth’s unique funding process. ThaiHealth receives 2% of the tobacco and alcohol tax, accruing on a daily basis. This funding mechanism requires effective management and transparency. Moreover, ThaiHealth is the only one organization in Thailand that must report annual performance to parliament. ThaiHealth does not operate any programs or projects itself, but instead funds activities by others.  ThaiHealth has sometimes had difficulty finding sufficient projects to fund, because applicants do not properly understand the objectives of ThaiHealth.

How does ThaiHealth monitor and evaluate (M&E) performance of multiple projects?

Each program or project will have to submit progress report to ThaiHealth in order to draw funds. Additionally, our staff can monitor progress through our IT system. Some reports can be produced real time. For Reactive Grant, ThaiHealth contracts out M&E teams to conduct random monitoring nationwide. For Proactive Grant, each big program has its own M&E committee to conduct internal evaluation collecting feedback for adjusting its own administration. Besides, ThaiHealth will conduct an external M&E to evaluate overall effectiveness, transparency and future direction of the program.

How does ThaiHealth develop the capacity of its associates?

ThaiHealth tries to develop the capacity of its associates through a series of training programs and workshops that bring together project/program managers to share their experiences. ThaiHealth also provides information and toolkits for health promotion.

What are ThaiHealth "champions"?

Through a series of discussions ThaiHealth and related organizations identify "champions". These are people who make a commitment with ThaiHealth to carry out health promotion projects and to receive direction from an advisory committee to achieve their objectives.

What are ThaiHealth's priorities?

ThaiHealth has emphasized tobacco control, alcohol control and traffic accident prevention. This is in part because tobacco and alcohol control are specific stated objectives in the Health Promotion Foundation Act, B.E. 2001. Traffic accident prevention is closely related to alcohol control.

Do works of ThaiHealth overlap with those of other local organizations?

The overlap is far from question. According to the establishment of ThaiHealth, it was aimed to set up a newly management system for health promotion activities undertaken by state organizations. This system provides more flexibility as well as less complexity to make use of resources for maximum benefit. In addition, ThaiHealth’s role as a catalyst, facilitator and financial supporter, differs ThaiHealth from others.

Does ThaiHealth have any bias against organizations requesting for grant?

ThaiHealth is required to carefully review every project proposals coming in, particularly proactive related projects with nation-wide impacts. The reliability of implementing organization is considered as “crucial”. Therefore, organizations that had worked with ThaiHealth and shown outstanding performance are likely to continue work with ThaiHealth. These partners include governmental and non-governmental organizations and have years of experiences and expertise. Considering the ratio of granted organizations, there is a high number of small organizations granted to implement their reactive projects. This represents ThaiHealth’s policy that offers an opportunity for those with less experience to carry on their health promotion works. When their experiences, skills and reliability are visible, grants for proactive activities are possible for them.

Is there any clear criteria for grant and project selection?

ThaiHealth focuses on projects with the potential for innovation, people participation, capacity building, sustainability and extension to broader areas or target groups or issues. Other criteria is also considered important, namely funding support from other sources, project manager or responsible person, project feasibility and reasonable budgeting.

How does ThaiHealth deal with politicians?

ThaiHealth's operations are based on transparency and accountability. It does not support politically-motivated projects. ThaiHealth also educates individuals and organizations seeking project support from ThaiHealth.

What is the relationship between ThaiHealth and the Ministry of Public Health?

The Minister of Public Health is a member of the ThaiHealth governance board. ThaiHealth has some joint projects with the Ministry of Public Health including alcohol and tobacco control, the consumer protection plan, and the spiritual health care support project.

Who are ThaiHealth’s reviewers?

ThaiHealth’s reviewers are high ranking officers of the Ministry of Public Health, non-government organizations (NGO), members of the Thai public, local stakeholders, professors and experts.

How can ThaiHealth ensure sustainable development?

• ThaiHealth committees are integrated to be a principle part of the health system.
• ThaiHealth pushes for changes in public policies.
• ThaiHealth strives to build up learning processes and usable information systems.
• ThaiHealth strengthens health promotion at various levels in communities across the country.