Anti-booze Campaigners Sign Up Surayud

[lazeeboy]

Maybe if they actually enforce this law forbidding sale to minors, they could be rid of the ridiculous law of not being able to sell alcohol between 2 and 5pm. The law was originally put in place to combat underage drinking but if there is enforcement of a law that actually directly combats underage drinking, then there is no need for the 2-5 law that affects all drinkers. To let people know, I'm not a sour drunk. I don't drink, I just can't stand people taking away my right to drink if I would want to.

jbsears i totally agree with you 100% and im also not a drinker .......

[raro]

UK:

18 - Drink, vote

17 - Drive (car)

16 - Smoke (soon to be 18?), Work, Leave Home, Marry (with parental consent), Age of Consent

USA:

21 - Drink

18 - Vote? Smoke?

14 - Drive (at least in some states)

What's the big deal about a limit of 20 on drinking. It's not as if kids in the UK stay stone cold sober until they are 18, they find ways around it. Same will happen here.

Germany:

16 - smoking and drinking beer in public until 10 pm

18 - drinking whtever you want whenever you want, driving a car and vote

we're still alive...

On a side note, we had a school exchange with Chicago when we were about 18/19. Had to carry the American guys out of the pub after two or three pints.

[andook]

Maybe if they actually enforce this law forbidding sale to minors, they could be rid of the ridiculous law of not being able to sell alcohol between 2 and 5pm. The law was originally put in place to combat underage drinking but if there is enforcement of a law that actually directly combats underage drinking, then there is no need for the 2-5 law that affects all drinkers. To let people know, I'm not a sour drunk. I don't drink, I just can't stand people taking away my right to drink if I would want to.

jbsears i totally agree with you 100% and im also not a drinker .......

Well said. I am a social drinker, and instead of demonizing alcohol, why don't the authorities here try to introduce a policy / campaign of sensible drinking.

It would be nice if a bit of television airtime was given over to some sort of public awareness regarding alcohol and other things like, say; responsible driving habits; etc. I realise that this might cut into advertsing revenues and game / chat / soap show time, but a concerted awareness campaign could save the country a heck of a lot of money..... But, this is maybe too long-term...? Thought so.

[wolfmanjack]

Chaipranin Visudhipol, a former president of the Advertising Association of Thailand, hopes the NLA will understand that the problem has more to do with poor law enforcement than anything else.

''A total ad ban cannot reduce consumption. White liquor accounts for 80% to total alcohol sales although it has never been advertised,'' he said.

cite

Mid, what do you expect a guy from d advertising assoc to say ? Unfortunately in quoting him, I think you are just quoting some total big time bullsh... I cannot argue about d issue of white liquor except to say, how in d hel_l does this guy know about the sales of white liquor when per se it's illegal and therefore there are no reliable official statistics (unless he is in this illegal business himself) ! So his quote of 80 % could be an exaggeration, an understimate or totally spot on. Surely nobody knows. Let's face it loads of good money is spent on alchohol advertising for a reason, because it does encourage more sales and it's not just about competitive selling. For certain, curbing the promotion and availability of alchohol will have some effect on consumption, its just a question of how much effect it will have. For many Thai people any reduction in the general consumption of alchohol would be a good thing.

Cheers again (but not bottoms up !)

Chips

Based on what I see from my workers it is about right. They drink white whiskey most of the month and only drink Mehkong, Sangsom, or beer for a few days after they get paid. When their money is all gone it is back to white whiskey on credit. The same in my wifes village. After harvest time it is beer and dark whiskey. The rest of the time it is white whiskey. Since the majority of the people in thailand fit into this cycle I would say that 80% is accurate. He also could be getting his figures from the tax collected on the legal white whiskey. If so then when illegal white whiskey is figured in the percent would be even higher.

[PhilHarries]

Sorry if this has been said before but I'm too lazy to go thru all nine pages.

IMO this advertising ban issue has got sod all to do with public health, social disorder or a wish to preserve the Thai way of life. What it is for is to drum up support for this installed administration. The CNS is seeing it's popularity declining and they will do anything possible to appease groups of people and raise their approval rating.

Again IMO the ban will either be kicked out by the NLA or it will be only half heartedly enforced after all this is the Thai way. Make a law then totally ignore it only enforcing it in patches when the bakshish fund starts to run low.

Anyhow, seven hours twenty minutes time I'll be touching down at Camp Swampy so let the party begin!

[Jai Dee]

Rural Doctor Society is impressed with government on approval of Alcoholic Beverage Control Act

Dr. Kriangsak Watcharanukulkiart (เกรียงศักดิ์ วัชรนุกูลเกียรติ), the chairman of the Rural Doctor Society, says the Cabinet’s endorsement of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act on March 13th will be beneficial to the country.

Dr. Kriangsak praises Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont for being the first person to approve the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. He also would like other Cabinet members to sign their names in order to support the bill. He says the government has handed the act to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), and he would like the NLA to show a clear intention on this issue like the government.

Dr. Kriangsak says the Rural Doctor Society is coordinating with all hospitals in order to collect the signatures of the people who are supporting the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. The Rural Doctor Society has collected 8,472,093 names so far, and it aims to achieve at least 12 million names, or even up to 20 million names by March 18th.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 16 March 2007

[Barryz]

A couple of pages back, I suggested that a ban on alcohol advertising (as others have suggested also) might alleviate Thailand's drinking problems and is a better way of tackling the problem than trying to police all sorts of restrictive laws on liquor retail outlets.

Do not be misled by statements that 80% of all alcohol sales are in the form of locally made white liquor that are not advertised and, therefore, banning advertising will not reduce over-all consumption. This is precisely the deceptive argument that the tobacco companies used. They would claim that advertising only persuaded people to switch brands and had no effect on the total consumption of cigarettes.

This argument has proved to be fallacious. There are usually two fundamental messages in good advertisements; one that the type of product being advertised is very desirable; two that the specific brand being advertised is more desirable than the others. It would be very difficult to separate these two concepts in any advertisement other than plain statements to the effect that, for example, "We sell Jonnie Walker whisky here", or "We sell most brands of beer".

Advertising promotes consumption, period.

I see that none of you have contested this wise statement, indicating that you all have a fair degree of intelligence .

Edited March 17, 2007 by Barryz

[Barryz]

I see! So I've really hit upon a 'raw nerve' here; a taboo subject.

Let me rephrase this. The concept I'm advocating is that any prohibition creates a problem. I don't care if it's drugs, prostitution or murder. It's the prohibition itself which creates the idea and the concept to carry out the illicit operation.

We don't have to make 'murder' illegal in a Buddhist society because as we all know, 'killing' of any sort is immoral (as it is in a truly Christian society, with regards to people at least). Making murder illegal, ensures that murder takes place. And as we all know (if we are really honest with ourselves) murder is abundant. The separation of 'murder' and plain Government sanctioned 'killing', is again a totally fallacious concept.

The things that we all agree are 'wrong' should not be prohibited. They should simply not be promoted.

Can you argue with this?

Edited March 18, 2007 by Barryz

[jumnien]

Pretty easy to argue with.

You say, "The things that we all agree are 'wrong' should not be prohibited. They should simply not be promoted."

I don't think we should just not promote actions like child molestation, they should be prohibited.

[mbkudu]

Did anyone notice that a member of the Thai royal family was just in Germany touring a brewery?

[Barryz]

Pretty easy to argue with.

You say, "The things that we all agree are 'wrong' should not be prohibited. They should simply not be promoted."

I don't think we should just not promote actions like child molestation, they should be prohibited.

All molestation is wrong. Why single out child molestation. All killing is wrong. Why make difffferent categories. Molest anyone and you go to jail. Kill anyone for any reason and you go to jail.

The point I'm trying to make is that all of us really know what is wrong from the basic morals of religion, our upbringing, and common sense. Start intoroducing special prohibitions in addition to these commonly understood principles and you draw attention to those practices and bestow upon them some sort of special attraction which they do not merit.

[Barryz]

Well, I suppose, here, we're getting into dangerous territory, considering the illogicality of drug enforcement in Thailand and many other countries.

It's not surprising that this topic does not generate any serious discussion on this subject. There are 'taboo' subjects, and this is one of them, in Thailand, where drug traffickers experience severe penalties.

Drugs are drugs. This arbitrary classification which takes place for many misunderstood and ignorant reasons, is really, really lamentable.

[Ijustwannateach]

You can't really legislate things that aren't the will of the people successfully. You have to educate them until it becomes the will of the people, and then the legislation follows their will. From what I've seen of the Thai attitude to alcohol (M.1-M.6 kids able to purchase shots of cheap booze from corner stores right outside public schools), enforcement of these rules will be a major problem, at least in this generation.

[andy1308]

From today's Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/16May2007_biz33.php

Thai Bev net profit up 13.2%

Thai Beverage Plc (ThaiBev), the country's largest alcoholic beverage producer, said its net profit reached 2.87 billion baht in the first quarter of 2007, up 13.2% over the same period last year.a

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, a ThaiBev director and executive vice-president, said that sales rose 11.4% year-on-year to 25.961 billion baht.

He attributed the improved performance to increased beer sales, lower marketing expenses and a decrease in interest expenses caused by a reduction in the Singapore-listed company's debt.Beer sales growth, to a total quarterly volume of 66.4 million litres, was led by the budget product Archa Beer.

At the same time, promotional sales for the beer, water and spirits businesses decreased, resulting in a reduction of sales and administrative expenses, he said.

Sales revenue from spirits rose 7.6%, mainly due to an increase in sales of brown spirits. Hong Thong rum and Blend 285 whiskey, which were launched in 2006, had been well received by consumers, he said, and this trend continued into the first quarter of this year.

-----

And this shows, in my opinion, that the advertising ban will have no impact whatsoever on consumption and sales. Look at these figures - increased beer sales through less marketing and promotion. The only industry to suffer is the already hard-hit advertising sector.

(I do have an interest, I work for a publishing company although not one that has ever taken advertising from this sector)

[Jai Dee]

Rules on adverts to be eased

Amendment set to anger groups wanting full ban

The Alcohol Control Bill will not impose a comprehensive ban on alcohol advertising, according to the latest amendment by a vetting committee of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

The move is set to cause uproar among health-related non-government organisations, which described the ban as the essence of the bill.

"There will be stricter restrictions, but not a virtual ban," the committee's chairman Praphan Koonme said yesterday.

His committee is charged with vetting the bill before it goes back to the NLA for the second reading.

Initially, the Public Health Ministry stated in the bill that alcohol advertising must be banned in all media with limited exceptions such as live broadcast programmes.

"All members in the committee believe it's better to use certain control measures," Praphan explained.

He said the virtual ban on alcohol advertising was enforced in only one or two countries in the world, and the enforcement had "proved impractical".

According to the vetting committee, alcohol advertising will be allowed in printed media but the warning message space must rise from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the total ad space. The ads must not have a presenter.

"Outdoor advertising boards should be smaller in size. What size is appropriate will be determined later by ministerial regulations," Praphan added.

On TV commercials, the vetting committee said alcohol advertising should still be allowed to go on air between 10pm and 5am but alcohol products must be seen for no longer than five seconds.

Praphan insisted the committee's decision was not influenced by any lobbying efforts. Alcohol companies had reportedly fought to have the right to advertise since the bill was first proposed.

"The [comprehensive] ban is too strict. To discourage alcohol consumption, campaigns are a much better option," he said.

Praphan also ruled out a suggestion by Thailand Development Research Institute's respected academic Ammar Siamwalla, that the alcohol companies should pay for advertising about alcohol-consumption warnings.

"No one will want to pay for what will hurt his or her business," he said.

He said Thai Health Promotion Foundation should be responsible for advertising cost, space and airtime when it came to campaigns against alcohol consumption.

Meanwhile, health-related non-government organisations called on Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla to stand by the proposed stipulation of the comprehensive ban on alcohol advertising.

"About 13 million people have supported the bill," said Kamron Chudecha, the co-ordinator of the Stop Drink Network.

Mongkol said he would "do his best".

However, he hinted that if the conflicts arise, it would be better to step back and continue the mission at a later time.

"That way, we can also achieve what we want. If we do our best and achieve some progress, we can do more in the future," he said.

Source: The Nation - 20 June 2007

[MrSnrang]

If 13 million people supported the bill, why aren't the 47 other million bitching about it?

[octagon]

What!? Another ban????

Edited June 20, 2007 by octagon

[Mid]

Thai Bev shares to trade on SET soon

Shares of Thai Beverages Plc, Thailand's largest beer and spirits maker, are expected to begin trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand late this year, according to SET president Patareeya Benjapolchai.

She said the market capitalisation of the Thai bourse is likely to increase to Bt6 trillion by the end of this year from Bt5.7 trillion at present since it is expected that Thai Beverages, one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in South East Asia, with a market cap of Bt100 billion, would be listed on SET.

The Post Publishing Public Co

[Jai Dee]

Network against alcohol consumption asks NLA to allow press members to attend meeting on Alcohol Control Act

A network against alcohol consumption calls on the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to allow press members to attend NLA meetings on the Alcohol Control Act for transparency and to prevent any hidden agendas.

Coordinator of the network Khamron Chedecha (คำรณ ชูเดชา) says he used to submit a letter to the NLA subcommittee on the Alcohol Control Act, supporting a ban on alcohol advertisements in all forms of media 24hrs. The letter also requests the subcommittee to allow press members and representatives of the general public to witness the subcommittee’s meetings on the Act draft.

At the same time, a representative of the Anti-alcohol Network, Songkran Phakchokdee (สงกรานต์ ภาคโชคดี) says the network will unveil the names of members of the subcommittee who act in favor of alcohol companies and do not perform their duty to protect children and women from the downside of alcohol consumption. Mr Songkran adds that a research by the World Bank shows that countries which can efficiently control alcohol have a better economy.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 29 June 2007

[gharknes]

the fundamental problem in Thailand is simple, they make laws and implement them, then they see they are not working or having the desired effect so they tighten them further, they get into this cycle of introduction tighten failure, the real problem is enforcement prosicution and penalties. The laws simply are not enforced by the authorities.

[soundman]

the fundamental problem in Thailand is simple, they make laws and implement them, then they see they are not working or having the desired effect so they tighten them further, they get into this cycle of introduction tighten failure, the real problem is enforcement prosicution and penalties. The laws simply are not enforced by the authorities.

The next problem after the cycle described above is that once a law is introduced, it is almost impossible to repeal. So silly laws sit inside the book, generally ignored by everyone, forgotten by most, until its time for someone to use it their advantage.

Eg. Taksin wants to crack down on the disco's because his son is being a little wayward, so he pulls out an anciant law from the 1950's? about sound levels (db's) & uses this to put pressure on shutting all discotheques by 10pm. He got midnight.

Soundman.