The Thai FDA’s Criteria for Food Advertising B.E. 2569 took effect on 28 July 2026. Its Thai title is ประกาศสำนักงานคณะกรรมการอาหารและยา เรื่อง หลักเกณฑ์การโฆษณาอาหาร พ.ศ. 2569. It governs how food and beverage products containing cannabis, hemp and kratom may be advertised. This is a separate regime from the controlled-herb advertising ban. It bans cartoon imagery for cannabis and hemp foods. It bans advertising built on sleep, relaxation and other psychoactive effects, and it bans kratom claims about working longer or relieving stress. It also puts warning text into the advertisement itself and limits advertising permits to five years. If you sell a cannabis-infused drink or a kratom product through the food channel, this is the instrument that governs your marketing.
1. Why this is a separate regime, and why that matters
Thai cannabis advertising rules exist in at least two places, and conflating them is how businesses get caught.
The controlled-herb regime covers cannabis inflorescence (flower) under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis) B.E. 2568, issued 26 June 2025. Flower may be dispensed only against a prescription on form PT 33 from an authorised practitioner. It may not be sold or advertised online. Enforcement tiers are covered in topic 1295, and the forum’s article on advertising and selling rules covers the rest.
The food regime is different. It covers cannabis, hemp and kratom as ingredients in food and beverages, and the Thai FDA administers it under food law. A hemp-seed drink, a cannabis-leaf tea and a kratom supplement are all food products. Leaves, stems and roots used in food fall under the Thai FDA, while the inflorescence is the controlled herb. Advertising flower online stays prohibited regardless. The new criteria also forbid advertising that promotes the use of cannabis or hemp inflorescence in food.[3][4]
The practical consequence is that a business can never advertise flower and still breach the food criteria in how it markets a beverage. Two regimes, two compliance questions.
2. What the instrument requires
The instrument was published in the Royal Gazette, Vol. 143, Special Issue 182 ง, on 27 July 2026. It came into force on 28 July 2026, the day after publication. It replaces the Criteria for Food Advertising B.E. 2564 (2021).[1][2][3][4]
Kratom (food supplements containing kratom)
- May not suggest the product is for children, young people or anyone under 18, or for pregnant or nursing women. Models may not come from these groups.
- May not claim it helps you work longer or relieves stress, or that it counters depression or relieves pain. May not show misuse.
- Mandatory warnings include “ไม่ควรรับประทานติดต่อกันเกิน 7 วัน” (“should not be consumed continuously for more than 7 days”).[3][4][5]
Cannabis and hemp foods
- May not suggest the product is for anyone under 20, or for pregnant or nursing women. Cartoon imagery is banned.
- May not show effects of cannabis, hemp or THC linked to misuse. Reported examples are uncontrollable laughter, sleep aid, deeper or longer sleep, euphoria and relaxation.
- Images must match the real ingredient: a hemp-seed product may show only hemp seed.
- Mandatory warning: “อาจทำให้ง่วงซึมได้ ควรหลีกเลี่ยงการขับขี่ยานพาหนะ หรือทำงานเกี่ยวกับเครื่องจักรกล” (“may cause drowsiness; avoid driving or operating machinery”).[3][4]
Permits
- Advertising permits are valid for no more than 5 years from the date of approval.[3]
- Permits granted before the notification took effect remain usable until they expire (clause 13). New applications and renewals are assessed under the B.E. 2569 criteria.[3][5][6]
3. Reading the prohibitions properly
The age thresholds differ, and that is not a drafting error. The threshold is under 18 for kratom and under 20 for cannabis and hemp. For kratom it matches the sale rule: the Kratom Plant Act B.E. 2565 bars sale to under-18s, according to a law-firm summary.[10] For cannabis, the B.E. 2568 notification limits flower to PT 33 prescriptions. We have not verified an explicit under-20 sales ban in that notification. Press reports say the draft Cannabis Control Act would add one. That Act was approved by Cabinet on 22 September 2026, sent to the House and is still a draft. The under-20 advertising threshold applies on its own terms either way. Use the wrong threshold on the wrong product and you are in breach.
The banned kratom claims are exactly what kratom is traditionally used for. Working longer and relieving stress are its two best-known traditional uses in southern Thailand. The ban is not on the product. It is on selling it on those grounds, which sharply limits how a kratom product can be positioned.
For cannabis, the rule targets effects, not every health claim. The reported text is aimed at depicting cannabis, hemp or THC effects linked to misuse. A properly substantiated hemp-seed nutrition claim is a different kind of claim. Where exactly the boundary falls is a question for a Thai lawyer, not a forum article.
The cartoon ban is the clearest rule on the list and the easiest to breach by accident. A lot of Thai beverage design uses mascots and playful hand-drawn illustration. This is the provision most likely to force a redesign of existing artwork. It applies to cannabis and hemp, not to kratom.
4. The permit provisions are the operational risk
The content rules get discussed, but the permit term is what creates a deadline. Every advertising permit now has a maximum life of five years. Permits granted under the 2021 criteria are not cancelled, because clause 13 lets them run until they expire. But any renewal will be judged against the B.E. 2569 criteria, so artwork and copy approved under the old rules may not be renewable as they are.
The licence consequences of a breach are covered in bai209 (Ministerial Regulation No. 2 B.E. 2569) and topic 1295 (DTAM penalty tiers). An advertising mistake can become a licence problem.
5. Who this actually applies to
Cannabis and hemp food and beverage producers, directly. Much existing artwork and copy predates July 2026.
Kratom product producers, directly. Kratom’s chemistry and labelling rules are covered in bai93. Labels must warn against continuous use beyond seven days and against combining kratom with alcohol, according to a law-firm summary.[10] The seven-day warning must now appear in the advertisement as well as on the label.
Hemp food producers. Hemp seed, hemp seed oil and hemp seed protein products are regulated foods under MOPH Notification No. 425 B.E. 2564 and need Thai FDA approval.[7] If your product is in the food channel, its advertising falls under this regime.
Retailers selling infused products. Your in-store and online material about those products counts as advertising.
Anyone posting promotional content on this forum. The forum’s advertising and selling rules already reflect the controlled-herb ban. These food criteria add a second set of limits for infused-product content.
6. The 2021 food rules, and what remains open
Food containing cannabis and hemp has been regulated since 2021 by Ministry of Public Health notifications issued under the Food Act B.E. 2522:
- No. 425 B.E. 2564 covers hemp seed, hemp seed oil and hemp seed protein products.[7]
- No. 427 B.E. 2564 covers food products containing parts of cannabis or hemp other than the inflorescence, such as leaves, stems and roots. It was later amended (No. 438 B.E. 2565).[8]
- No. 429 B.E. 2564 covers food containing cannabidiol (CBD) extract.[9]
These notifications set THC and CBD limits and label warnings. The drowsiness warning has appeared on these products’ labels since then. The 2021 advertising criteria were built on this regime, and B.E. 2569 now puts the warning into the advertisement too. We do not reproduce the numerical limits here because they have been amended. Check the current text on the Thai FDA website.
Still open:
- The exact Gazette wording. We located the Gazette PDF[1], but the provisions above are quoted from Thai press reports of it.
- The scope of the kratom rules. As reported, they apply to food supplements containing kratom. It is unclear whether other food categories are treated the same way.
- Penalty amounts under this instrument specifically.
7. What to do this month
Audit your artwork against the cartoon ban. It is a visual yes-or-no check and the fastest thing to do.
Audit your claims against the banned lists. For cannabis and hemp: sleep, relaxation, euphoria and other misuse effects, plus any suggestion that inflorescence is in the food. For kratom: working longer, stress relief, pain relief and counteracting depression.
Check the age targeting on each product line separately: under 18 for kratom, under 20 for cannabis and hemp.
Put the warning text in the advertisement, not only on the pack.
Note the expiry date of every advertising permit you hold. Renewal is where the new criteria will bite.
Get the Thai text before acting. This article summarises the notice as reported. It is not a substitute for the Gazette.
Does anyone here hold a Thai food advertising permit for a cannabis, hemp or kratom product, and has a renewal under the B.E. 2569 criteria reached you yet? One account of what the Thai FDA actually asked for would be worth more than any summary.
Related reading: the article on advertising and selling rules for cannabis in Thailand; the article on cannabis product labelling requirements for Thailand and the EU; the kratom law article (bai93); the article on the EFSA CBD limit (bai252); the article on Thailand’s two Ministerial Regulations of B.E. 2569 (bai209); topic 1295 on DTAM penalty tiers.
This article summarises published reporting and is not legal or regulatory advice. The provisions are quoted from Thai press and secondary summaries of a Royal Gazette notice we located but did not quote directly. Advertising of controlled herbs and of food products in Thailand is regulated by the Ministry of Public Health, the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine and the Thai FDA. Check anything here against the Thai original before acting on it.
Sources
Primary = Royal Gazette or Thai government text. Secondary = press, consultancy or law firm.
- Primary. Royal Gazette, Vol. 143, Special Issue 182 ง (27 July 2026), ประกาศสำนักงานคณะกรรมการอาหารและยา เรื่อง หลักเกณฑ์การโฆษณาอาหาร พ.ศ. 2569: https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/123102.pdf
- Primary. Thai FDA Food Division, notice page for the B.E. 2569 criteria: กองอาหาร
- Secondary (Thai press). Thansettakij: อย. คลอดเกณฑ์โฆษณาอาหารฉบับใหม่ คุมเข้ม "กระท่อม-กัญชา-กัญชง" ห้ามสื่อถึงเด็ก-เยาวชน
- Secondary (Thai press). Bangkok Biznews: อย.คลอดเกณฑ์ใหม่ คุมโฆษณา ‘ผลิตภัณฑ์เสริมอาหาร’- ‘กระท่อม’
- Secondary (summary site). Kelomn: เกณฑ์โฆษณาอาหาร อย. 2569: 3 กลุ่ม + คำเตือน — Kelomn
- Secondary (consultancy). DeeMED Consulting: Thailand's New Food Advertising Rules Restrict How Kratom and Cannabis Can Be Marketed | DeeMED
- Primary (copy hosted by PSU). MOPH Notification No. 425 B.E. 2564: https://research.psu.ac.th/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/03-ประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข-ฉบับที่-425-พ.ศ.-2564.pdf
- Primary (copy hosted by DTAM). MOPH Notification No. 427 B.E. 2564: https://ockt.dtam.moph.go.th/images/กฎหมาย/34._พรบ_อาหาร_ฉ427.PDF
- Primary (Thai FDA English translation). MOPH Notification No. 429 B.E. 2564: https://exfood.fda.moph.go.th/law/data/announ_moph/P429_E.pdf
- Secondary (law firm). FOSR Law: https://fosrlaw.com/2026/thailand-kratom-law-2026/