Alcohol industry urges action on drink control law

By KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN 
THE NATION

 

Thanakorn Kuptajit, president of TABBA, says more effective cooperation will help address problems associated with excessive drinking.

 

THE Thai Alcohol Beverage Business Association (TABBA) says the public and private sectors should work together to clarify the ambiguities in the country’s new alcohol control law.

Such cooperation would effectively tackle underage drinking, a high road accident rate and social problems caused by excessive drinking, the group said.

 

The association said the government sector has an obligation to listen to every stakeholder’s opinion in order to “internationalise the law, elucidate obscure and unclear legal interpretations, advocate for fair enforcement”, as well as promote public awareness of the harm caused by alcohol abuse.

 

Thanakorn Kuptajit, president of TABBA, said that some sections of The Alcohol Beverage Control Act B.E. 2551 are ambiguous, which have resulted in different interpretations of law enforcement. 

 

The number of underage drinkers in Thailand has not dropped due to deficiencies in the law and people’s drinking behaviours. In other Asian countries, like Japan, alcohol is not associated with social problems and product advertising is allowed. This is because its law enforcement is carried out efficiently, Thanakorn said.

 

TABBA wants the public sector and relevant agencies to consider modernising the new law to solve the root causes of the problem and properly educate Thai people and youth on the law.

 

“If there is to be a common understanding of the guidelines, some issues in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act B.E. 2551 must be discussed by the government and the private sector,” Thanakorn said.

 

“What can and cannot be done legally regarding the alcohol control act has become an extended conversation in society. TABBA, as the representative of the alcoholic beverage businesses that advocates for ethical marketing and social responsibility, wishes to collaborate with the government and the general public to promote fair and efficient law enforcement.

 

“The association believes that a partnership between every sector will lead to a sustainable and successful solution to the harmful use of alcohol in Thailand. Such an effort is also in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 2025 global target, which aims for at least a 10 per cent relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol.”

 

Despite being well-intentioned, the new law is ambiguous in some areas, as well as being overly dependent on the discretion of officials, resulting in the lack of definitive guidelines, the group said.

 

 There is also a risk of a conflict of interest, as the incentive for sizeable rewards can indirectly lead to unjust legal interpretation.

 

Similarly, the general public has noted that despite the sound content, the act lacks clarity and standards of practice1, which is confusing to both consumers and businesses and negatively affects the economy and the tourism industry, the group said.

 

The quantity of alcoholic beverages consumed has been increasing each year. In fiscal 2015, 2,864 million litres of alcoholic drinks were consumed, for 0.6 per cent growth year-on-year; in fiscal 2016, consumption reached 3,088 million litres, for growth of 7.8 per cent over the previous year. Additionally, the trend in alcoholic consumption among Thais aged over 15 years has shown no significant drop despite the enforcement of the alcoholic beverage control act. These figures imply the Thai people practice only moderate celebratory behaviour. 

 

According to WHO figures, Thailand ranks 72nd globally on the list of alcohol consumption per capita of people aged over 15 years. This statistic contradicts the common belief that the nation places near the top when it comes to alcohol consumption.

 

Furthermore, a survey by the Royal Thai Police suggests that the main cause of road accidents in the kingdom is lack of traffic discipline, not drink driving which ranks in seventh place. These results further prove that alcohol is not the main cause of social problems, especially in terms of road safety. Enforcement of the nee Act alone is not an adequate solution to overall road-safety issues.

 

The public sector is therefore urged to involve the private sector and the general public in formulating a mutual understanding and standard of practice while also promoting fair and just law enforcement that is appropriate to the current social and economic environment, in accordance with the WHO’s global target to relatively reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10 per cent within 2025, the industry group said.

 

“TABBA thus proposes that the public sector and relevant agencies consider the request to modernise the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act B.E. 2551, so that the law is in line with international practices,” said Thanakorn.

 

“ In order to truly reflect the spirit of the law, the association asks that mutual efforts be made in the clarification of the ambiguous legal interpretation while ensuring fairness in the legal implementation. This, along with constructive engagement with the public about the harmful use of alcohol, is necessary to achieving effective and comprehensive alcoholic beverages regulation.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30333358

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-12-07

 

First thing is to drop those silly Thaksin era booze selling hours of not being able to buy from 2 Pm to 5 PM

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Such cooperation would effectively tackle underage drinking, a high road accident rate and social problems caused by excessive drinking, the group said

Parents are responsible for their children drinking. The police are responsible for drink drivers. Maybe set up a checkpoint right outside a fancy nightclub where everyone parks their cars. Excessive drinking? That can be many factors. A miserable existence usually plays a big part. One of the reasons many turn to drugs, also. Many people only have that thought of a beer or lao kao at the end of the day to keep them going. 

 

Education, education, education. 

Once again,restaurants at Blueport Mall Hua Hin,have been stopped selling alcohol with food after 2pm. This is due they tell me to a “police crackdown “

every other restaurant not in the mall,every hotel,every bar.....it’s fine !!

 

i haven’t checked recently,but you could always get a glass of wine with your food in the original Hua Hin mall.....So I have the usual suspicions re “inducements”.   Totally nuts in a tourist town!

2 hours ago, toolpush said:

First thing is to drop those silly Thaksin era booze selling hours of not being able to buy from 2 Pm to 5 PM

I agree that they need to be changed, but they are actually a copy of the antiquated UK laws that were in place since the 1st world war that were just changed in the UK a few years ago.

3 hours ago, toolpush said:

First thing is to drop those silly Thaksin era booze selling hours of not being able to buy from 2 Pm to 5 PM

yeah, it was always hilarious to me to sit in the Big C foodcourt at 1:50 PM and look around and see a couple near-full beer towers on every table; 

seemed to me their plan was to sip beer for the next 3 hours and 10 minutes

"In other Asian countries, like Japan, . . . law enforcement is carried out efficiently"

 

That's everything in a nutshell.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

This is because its law enforcement is carried out efficiently,

Agree totally with webfact. The standard of policing is abysmal.  I travel to/from Pattaya twice a week at night.  I am frequently overtaken by drivers swerving from lane to lane at 120 kph minimum.  Pattaya police are afraid of the dark unless there's 50 of them raiding a bar.  Meanwhile the daily carnage goes on.

Wouldn't be the increase in drinkers be confluent with the rising population?

Lets face it you have to get shit faced rather a lot to be able to carry on living here. At least people need to be able to decide for themselves when they can buy a drink and not have to put up with politicians deciding for them. The idiotic pixilation of drinks, bottles, cigarettes, knives and guns censorship on TV and film needs to go as well, people are not children. They even blur out the slightest hint of cleavage or nipples showing through as well, all this in the sex capital of Asia, laughable. 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

the trend in alcoholic consumption among Thais aged over 15 years has shown no significant drop despite the enforcement of the alcoholic beverage control act. These figures imply the Thai people practice only moderate celebratory behaviour. 

Or.... it implies that Thais ignore, and are otherwise not effected by, the “enforcement” of the bevy control act

 

never have I found it impossible to buy alcohol on a whim.... never... so enforcement? ????

 

admittedly, if the BiB started to do their job, that might change.

7 hours ago, toolpush said:

First thing is to drop those silly Thaksin era booze selling hours of not being able to buy from 2 Pm to 5 PM

I think you will find abihsit made that rule thaksin was gone before this rule came in.

25 minutes ago, Godang said:

I think you will find abihsit made that rule thaksin was gone before this rule came in.

I thought it was his Generalship that brought this law in, or at least enlivened it!

An off topic post has been removed. 

He didn't get an invite to the road safety gig? His organisation contributes a lot to the problem in one form or another. But their cash is what is needed.

The laws are really a farce in the small village near me.  There is a 7-11 that enforces them but the outdoor restaurant next door, owned by the same people that run the 7-11, will serve you alcohol anytime and the Ma & Pa store next to the 7-11 sells cold beer ans whiskey whenever they are open.  There is a police station directly across the street!  For some rerason the only no-no day is election day!

While the less dangerous beer and wine costs too much the really dangerous lao kao is still the cheapest to drink and available at local stores and street vendors from 6 am till midnight. Been that way for 20 years and not likely to change now.

12 hours ago, wayned said:

I agree that they need to be changed, but they are actually a copy of the antiquated UK laws that were in place since the 1st world war that were just changed in the UK a few years ago.

 

No - they are not a copy of the old UK Laws which were changed some time ago. 

 

 

I have comment to make regarding this, but will not be providing Thaivisa with free content until they turn off their adblocking detection popup.

21 hours ago, wayned said:

I agree that they need to be changed, but they are actually a copy of the antiquated UK laws that were in place since the 1st world war that were just changed in the UK a few years ago.

"a few years ago"

 

Actually it was a dozen years ago, in 2005  ...  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_licensing_laws_of_the_United_Kingdom

 

How time flies !

16 hours ago, Godang said:

I think you will find abihsit made that rule thaksin was gone before this rule came in.

The military-government in 2007 reduced advertising for booze  ...  and their current version hold similar views. 

 

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/127687-new-alcohol-law-wont-deter-tourists-minister/

 

However Thaksin was no libertarian either  ...

 

" Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called for Thai youths to refrain from all vices, as they will damage their brains. "  and  " the prime minister suggested that alcohol drinks, smoking, gambling, narcotics and improper sexual relations are the vices from which the youths should refrain. "  , both from 2006.

 

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/56406-thaksin-urges-youths-to-refrain-from-all-vices/

 

Perhaps none of them actually trust the people to drink or behave responsibly, I can't think why not ! Cheers !

 

Edited December 8, 20178 yr by Ricardo

15 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

Actually it was a dozen years ago, in 2005  ...  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_licensing_laws_of_the_United_Kingdom

Okay, a dozen not a few,but they went into effect in 1914 because of the 1st World War and it took them 91 years to change them to something that was more reasonable!

24 minutes ago, wayned said:

Okay, a dozen not a few,but they went into effect in 1914 because of the 1st World War and it took them 91 years to change them to something that was more reasonable!

 

Tradition is a fine thing !

 

Now if only we could persuade the Thai Customs to allow us to do tax-free booze-runs to Laos, to stock-up on Beer Lao, that would be timely progress IMO !