Pikhanet said officials had already started drafting a directive for OCPB secretary general Prasit Chalermwutthisak to sign and approve the ban as soon as possible.

The OCPB had earlier issued a directive to require sellers of hydrogen balloons to stick labels on balloons warning that they can catch fire, he said, but accidents and injuries still occurred so the office had decided to ban them altogether.

The Office had investigated and found that the dangerous hydrogen balloons were often sold directly in front of schools, Pikhanet added.