Pakdi Pothisiri of the FDA wants sex toys listed as medical devices.



The pieces of molded rubber and plastic that pose a threat to Thai society.

Private parts

By Supaporn Nipanon

27 July 2006

Sex toys are illegal in Thailand, leading to a massive underground market. Officials fear they endanger society, while others want to be left to their own devices.

“Sex” is the one topic that always manages to attract people’s attention. Thais are no exception, although it is an issue that largely stays behind bedroom doors as it is still considered taboo to discuss the ins and outs openly.

But the more sex is hidden, the more people are curious about it. The sex toy trade is a good example of this phenomenon.

While in western countries sex toys are legally available in countless sex shops selling everything from vibrators to edible underwear, in this country they’re illegal. But that doesn’t mean they’re not available. In fact, there is such a high demand for sex toys that authorities cannot keep up with the flood of devices that are being smuggled in, enabling many distributors to slip through their nets. Sex toys can be found everywhere, from night markets to websites.

Anuchit (who requested that his last name not be used) is a sex toy customer who knows firsthand that purchasing the devices is easy.

“I have to say that sex toy customers – including males, females and homosexuals – clearly know how to get their hands on them. They’re everywhere. If you want something, you only have to ask for it,” says Anuchit.

The contraband items can be found in markets at such places as Klong Toey Port, Chinatown, Klong Tom, the border town of Mae Sai in Chiang Rai and Hat Yai in Songkhla. Sex toys can also be bought through product catalogs or even commercial pages in certain magazines, says Anuchit.

“You might recall that 7-Eleven stores used to have sex toys in their catalogs. You can try asking book shops that sell pornography, they all have them. Also, thanks to easy internet access, lots of orders are made through websites,” he says.

Anuchit, whose friend is a sex toy distributor, says they are imported from China, Taiwan and Japan. Most of them come from China due to cheap labor but the most popular ones are from Japan because they always feature the latest designs to serve various customers’ demands.

The smuggling tactics are varied, Anuchit says. Distributors are normally tied up in a joint venture with Chinese, Taiwanese or Japanese companies, which smuggle sex toys through border towns and flights, hiding the products in different ways. Most of the time, authorities are unable to catch them.

“It is an underground trade but it brings great profits. Of course, for the big lots, bribes are paid to authorities. After they pass the border checkpoint, they are distributed everywhere,” he says. “It is that easy, as if we have legal sex shops…I agree with having legal sex shops. I think sex is human nature. Everyone wants to release their sexual desires but many people do not have the same opportunities as others. For example, singles, the handicapped, people who are not yet ready to be committed, widows or those who are sexually incompetent.”

Anuchit believes sex toys can deter people from turning to prostitutes, which could reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. It also helps to reduce sexual stress in the family in case a partner becomes impotent, he adds. “I don’t think anyone would use their sex toys in public. It is a very personal thing so they would definitely use them alone or with their partner in the bedroom. I don’t see how it will cause trouble for anyone. So why are sex toys illegal?”

But Anuchit’s dream of living in a society where sex toys are legal appears to be a long way off. Authorities continue to arrest sex toy distributors and plan to launch even stricter measures to keep them from reaching market shelves.

Pakdi Pothisiri, secretary general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Health Ministry, said that since the start of this year the authorities have made four arrests and seized about 6,500 sex toys worth about one million baht. Sex toy suppression is coordinated by a few government agencies including Customs, the FDA, the Consumer Protection Board Office and the Culture Ministry.

Pakdi says most of the arrests were made at Don Muang International Airport and involved sex toys smuggled in from China. Many of them were mixed with other products in an effort to conceal them. The arrests were made after the customs officials noticed irregularities in the shipments or were tipped off before the smugglers arrived.

As for border checkpoints like Mae Sai, sex toys are discovered frequently. The devices are usually smuggled from China on cargo ships traveling down the Mekong River into Thailand, says Pakdi.

But the FDA secretary general admits that in most cases, arresting sex toys smugglers remains difficult. The arrests made each year account for only a tiny segment of the whole business and plenty of sex devices are still being sold in Klong Toey Port and Chinatown.

One reason for this is because sex toys are not directly under FDA control as they are not listed as a medical or health product. They are considered illegal consumer products that are controlled by the Consumer Protection Board Office. That means the FDA needs to seek help from the Consumer Protection Board Office which has direct authority to control the products.

But the situation will change in the near future, as the FDA is planning to list sex toys as medical products, says Pakdi. And once they are listed as medical products, they will remain illegal and be easier to control as the FDA will have direct power over them.

“Under the law, all medical equipment and products need FDA permission to be imported. That means the FDA could screen for any inappropriate products. Also, advertising the products will require FDA permission. In this case, if sex toys are listed as medical products, we will be able control and curb the smuggling more.”

He says the process to list sex toys as medical products is underway, and is likely to take about three months. The FDA’s committee members in charge of medical device control still need to approve the proposal.

Pakdi doesn’t accept claims that sex toys don’t hurt anybody. He warns that many sex toys, apart from being immoral, could be a health risk as some of them do not meet safety standards, such as the vibrating condoms that can allow semen to leak out and thus make users at risk of sexual infections.

“Customers do not know that the condom they use cannot prevent anything. More importantly, some sex toys are sold with certain drugs such as ‘love drug,’ Spanish fly and Tincture Cantharides. This is very dangerous,” says Pakdi.

“Western countries allow sex shops to operate legally because they are confident that they can control the products and that they won’t create more social problems. But here in Thailand, we cannot control it. There are still many illegal products that are not appropriate and could harm the younger generation. So we have to ask whether sex toys will accelerate the existing problems under the assumption that we still would not be able to control them. It could create more problems for society so I don’t think they should be legal.”

Thai Day

Haha, Thats one to remember.... We will wait for the day that we will see a Sex toy shop open in Thailand....

Quote:You might recall that 7-Eleven stores used to have sex toys in their catalogs

I don't remember that

Agreed, Being a Buddhist country I don't think that we will see them openly available anywhere in the near future

This is a riot......

Thailand cannot control sex toys.....

Headline in National Post......."New Super Batteries Makes Sex Toy Uncontrollable & Run Amuk at Nana Plaza "