Shisha is not legal in Thailand. Hookahs (water pipes) and the tobacco mixtures smoked in them have been banned from import since December 2014, and selling them or offering them as a service is banned under a consumer-safety decree from July 2024 (as of October 2026).
The ban surprises many visitors, because hookah is a normal part of café life in the Middle East, Malaysia and much of Europe, and you may still see pipes on a table in some Bangkok bars. The rule did not come from the tobacco law. It sits in the same two instruments that ban e-cigarettes, which is why Thai documents usually mention "baraku", the Thai word for hookah, in the same breath as vapes.
This page covers water pipes and shisha tobacco only. Electronic cigarettes have their own page, vaping in Thailand, and ordinary cigarettes are covered in our guide to where you can smoke in Thailand.
Hookah and shisha rules (October 2026)
- Import of hookahs and shisha tobacco
- Banned since 25 December 2014 (Commerce Ministry notification)
- Selling, making for sale, offering as a service
- Banned (Decree No. 24/2024, Royal Gazette 18 July 2024)
- Electronic hookah
- Banned under the same two rules
- Smoking in a bar or club
- Not allowed, inside or outside (fine up to 5,000 baht)
- Exception for tourists
- None stated in either rule
- Customs hotline
- 1164
The 2014 import ban, in plain terms
The Ministry of Commerce signed a notification on Friday 12 December 2014 under the Export and Import of Goods Act of 1979. Its title says what it does: it prohibits importing "hookah and electronic hookah or electronic cigarette" into Thailand. It was published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday 24 December 2014 and took effect the next day.
The notification lists goods by their customs tariff codes, and two of them matter here:
- The pipe itself (tariff 9614.00.90): the glass or metal water pipe, with its bowl and hose.
- The smoking mixture (tariff 2403.11.00): the tobacco blends made for water pipes, the sticky flavored product sold as shisha or molasses tobacco.
The same notification covers electronic hookahs and e-cigarettes, along with any liquid imported with them. It is an import ban, so it applies at the border to anything you bring in, not only to traders. Nothing in the text exempts a single pipe packed as a souvenir or a pack of flavored tobacco for your own use.
A hookah bought in Dubai or Istanbul is a banned import in Thailand, even unused. The tariff code covers the pipe whether or not you ever light it. Leave decorative water pipes out of a bag headed for Bangkok, and read our page on changing planes in Bangkok before you carry one through on a connection.
The 2024 decree: no selling and no hookah service
Import is only half the picture. In January 2015 the Consumer Protection Board banned the sale of the same products. That order was revoked and replaced by Decree No. 24/2024 of the Committee on Safety of Products and Services, published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday 18 July 2024.
The decree bans three things for baraku (hookah), electronic baraku and e-cigarettes, together with their liquids and compounds: manufacturing them for sale, selling them, and providing them as a service. That last word is the one that matters for lounges. A bar that brings a lit pipe to your table is providing exactly the service the decree bans, even if it charges you only for drinks.
We have not seen an official English text setting out the penalties under the 2024 decree, so we do not print a figure here. For the import side, a lawyer quoted by The Nation in 2023 said unlawful import under Section 20 of the Export and Import of Goods Act carries up to ten years in prison and/or a fine of up to five times the value of the goods.
Why you still see hookah in some bars
Bans and practice are not the same thing in Thailand. Hookah is still offered in some nightlife areas, usually without any sign on the street. That tells you only that someone is breaking the law, not that the law is unenforced.
Police do seize pipes. According to Khaosod English, 23 hookah sets were among the items taken in a raid in Bangkok's Nana area on 15 October 2025, during an operation against foreign drug dealers. Hookah tends to turn up in raids that target something else: drugs, illegal workers or venues open past their licensed hours. If you are sitting at the table when that raid happens, you are part of the scene the police are recording, and you may be asked for your passport.
Neither rule names a fine for the customer who smokes the pipe, and we found no official statement about tourists being charged for using one. That is not the same as permission. For the wider picture of laws that catch visitors, see whether Thailand is safe to visit. The safest view is the one the UK Foreign Office takes for e-cigarettes, the other product in the same notification: no exception for tourists or personal use.
Smoking rules apply to a pipe as well
Even without the hookah ban, a lounge would struggle to be legal. The Tobacco Products Control Act 2017 defines smoking as producing tobacco smoke or vapor, and a 2018 Public Health notification makes bars, pubs, clubs, karaoke venues and air-conditioned restaurants entirely smoke-free, inside and out. The fine for smoking in a smoke-free place is up to 5,000 baht.
So a hookah on a rooftop terrace or in an open-air beer bar breaks two separate rules: the ban on serving it and the smoking ban for the venue. The smoking rules page linked above sets out where cigarettes are allowed; hookah has no legal place on that map.
Herbal shisha, steam stones and other "tobacco-free" options
Some lounges abroad sell tobacco-free mixtures made from herbs, tea leaves or sugar cane fiber, or "steam stones" soaked in flavoring. We found no Thai ruling on these products by name, so we cannot tell you that they are legal.
Two points weigh against them. The pipe is banned whatever goes in the bowl, and the 2024 decree covers hookah together with its "liquids and compounds". A lounge that says its shisha is herbal is still serving a banned device.
What travelers should do
- Do not pack a hookah, a hose or shisha tobacco for a trip to Thailand, including as a gift or souvenir.
- Decline hookah in bars. If a venue offers it, that is a sign it is willing to break other rules too.
- Do not buy a pipe in Thailand to take home. Selling it is illegal, and your own country may restrict it. Norway, for example, bans the import of waterpipe tobacco whatever your tobacco quota; our guide to taking cigarettes and alcohol home covers allowances.
- Stay within the tobacco allowance of 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of tobacco; our page on Thai customs allowances explains what happens to the excess.
- If police stop you, stay calm, carry ID and call the Tourist Police on 1155 if you need English. Our list of emergency numbers has the rest.
If you smoke hookah mainly for the nicotine and want something legal for the trip, nicotine gum and patches are sold in Thai pharmacies; see our guide to nicotine replacement in Thailand. Snus is a separate and less clear case, explained in snus in Thailand.
Frequently asked questions
Is shisha legal in Thailand?
No. A Commerce Ministry notification has banned importing hookahs and shisha tobacco since 25 December 2014, and Decree No. 24/2024 bans selling hookahs or offering them as a service (as of October 2026). Lounges that serve shisha are operating against both rules.
Can I bring a hookah to Thailand as a souvenir?
No. The import ban lists the water pipe itself by its tariff code, so a decorative or unused hookah is still a banned import. There is no personal-use or souvenir exception in the notification, and Customs can seize it at the airport.
Is it illegal to smoke shisha in a Thai bar?
The venue breaks the law by serving it, and bars and clubs are smoke-free inside and out, with a fine of up to 5,000 baht for smoking there. We found no specific penalty for customers in the hookah rules, but there is no tourist exception either.
Is electronic shisha allowed in Thailand?
No. Electronic hookahs are named in the same 2014 import notification and the same 2024 sales decree as e-cigarettes. The UK Foreign Office says possessing or using any vape or e-cigarette in Thailand is illegal, with no exception for tourists.
Sources
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – Ministry of Commerce notification banning import of hookah and e-cigarettes, 2014 (unofficial translation) (checked October 2026)
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – Committee on Safety of Products and Services Decree No. 24/2024 (unofficial translation) (checked October 2026)
- Tobacco Products Control Act 2017 (unofficial translation) (checked October 2026)
- Ministry of Public Health – Notification on non-smoking areas, 2018 (unofficial translation) (checked October 2026)
- Thai Customs Department – Guidelines for airport passengers (checked October 2026)
- UK FCDO – Thailand travel advice: safety and security (checked October 2026)
- The Nation – Lawyer confirms possessing a vape in Thailand is illegal (2023) (checked October 2026)
- Khaosod English – Undercover cops bust foreign drug dealers in Bangkok's Nana (16 October 2025) (checked October 2026)