Thailand’s liquor vendors want 2-5pm alcohol sales ban revoked

[Misab]

13 hours ago, howlee101 said:

Agree on being a strange law.  Growing up in middle Georgia, our town was beer only but not on Sunday (can't fight the Southern ????).  I lived in NW Florida during my military days....couldn't buy alcohol until noon on Sunday (the church thing again).  The restricted hours are a joke.

I fully agree too, and tourist don’t understand the law either.

Why can’t I buy a bottle of wine for my dinner?  ask the tourist. The sales women smile and say that is the law. You have to come back after 5 PM. 

What a joke.  No, not many understand that law. This is after all the 21^st century we live in.

And not many understand the high tax on wine either.  Not many Thai people can afford a bottle of wine, but they can afford cheap Thai whisky, which over time are much more harmful than wine.

[johnarth]

13 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It is a strange law especially when folks take Lao Khao shots before they head out to work or drive the kids to school.  Using the "Kids are getting out of school and we do not want them injured" is farcical at best.

what I was always told is it was to stop the kids from getting drunk at school

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

I think sometimes it's up to the owner of the 7-11.  I noticed here in Phuket some of the 7-11s that are near Mosques don't sell beer.  And there is one next to a gas station that doesn't sell it.  So maybe it's just the owners decision??  Just guessing.

Actually there's a couple laws (not sure regional or national), forbidding sales within distance to school, and one about selling (ex: 7-11s) on major highways.  Of course, franchise discretion, especially if Muzzy owned.

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, johnarth said:

what I was always told is it was to stop the kids from getting drunk at school

you mean 'after' school.

[chrissables]

11 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Informing someone that they couldn't purchase alcohol at 3 PM really isn't a "weird" thing to do, its actually being quite helpful to the person .

  What made you think that it would be a weird thing to do . 

Although it my have been weird if you  were lustfully leering at her whilst she was shopping  

Pick up a pack of beer, leave the money on the counter and walk out.  They can ring it up later.

[Marvest]

35 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

I think sometimes it's up to the owner of the 7-11.  I noticed here in Phuket some of the 7-11s that are near Mosques don't sell beer.  And there is one next to a gas station that doesn't sell it.  So maybe it's just the owners decision??  Just guessing.

It's possible.  Some 7-eleven's are company owned and some are owned by a franchisee.  But most franchise agreements have strict conditions to follow for consistency of brand.  

[Guderian]

Since they felt it necessary to keep the law firmly in place for the last two years, even though the schools were closed for much of the time due to Covid, those rascally Thai schoolkids must be trying to pop around to the local convenience stores to pick up some booze in the afternoons even when they're supposed to be learning from home. We should stand back in awe at the deep cultural understanding of society's problems (under-15's with a six-pack of Chang a day habit, lol) shown by the geniuses running the country. I mean, the Thai government would never have a stupid law that made no sense in place for half a century, would it?

[toofarnorth]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Here's a street view of the 7-11 and school in Hua Hin. Don't think it's higher-ed. Maybe rules interpreted differently by certain juristictions? I asked staff and they told me because of the school. That's what they said (and they definitely did not have any alcohol displays).

What about cigarettes on display .  Another oddity , Ask for * and * green and the shutter opens.

[tigerbeer]

finally instead of school they can say SKOL!

[clivebaxter]

24 minutes ago, Marvest said:

It's possible.  Some 7-eleven's are company owned and some are owned by a franchisee.  But most franchise agreements have strict conditions to follow for consistency of brand.  

when I was in Ubon I noticed 7/11's enforced the no drink within 300 metres of a school, had a job to find any 7 stocked with booze. Luckily our local one back home sells anytime and rings it up at 5, they even deliver for free

Edited March 18, 2022 by clivebaxter

[jesimps]

The one that jars me most is the no alcohol sales pre 1100 hrs. I like to do my shopping early morning so that I can get on with other jobs after I get back home. The present setup means that I have to make another trip out later on to get my booze. I do have a warehouse near me, but it doesn't open until 1030 so it isn't much use.

[mrfill]

Perhaps the idea is that you buy your booze in the morning and then get a break between 2 and 5 when you can drink it all up and then be ready for the next booze shopping mission at 5. There could be a danger of overbuying if the afternoon break was abolished....

[nahkit]

14 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

When shopping at Big C, Tesco etc. Its really annoying when you get to the checkout at 2.05pm and they remove it from the belt and say NO ALCOHOL (with a smile).

 

I reckon, sometimes they enjoy saying that to foreigners.

 

Even more annoying is when  you're shopping in Big C, its 11:20am and the cashier looks at the alcohol, turns, looks at the clock, and repeats it several times before pressing the buzzer and getting someone else over who tells them that its ok to sell it. 

[Marvest]

1 hour ago, Seeall said:

They have cameras on them and can loose their job....   dont take it out on the staff...

Right! and besides, a receipt for alcohol with a time stamp on it is irrefutable evidence of a law being broken.  But why should the vendors be concerned about being reported by foreign patrons who love and support them?

[shackleton]

Can't get to worked up it it's a small inconvenience to put up with 

We all know or most of us here in Thailand the times you can buy and not to buy

It's available in some  places for those in the know if you are really desperate for a drink 

[Lemsta69]

it's any annoying rule for sure but no point banging on and on about it all the time, it is what it is and it ain't gonna change because a few ferrlung whine about it. life's much easier here when you just go with the flow

[Marvest]

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

The only question is if the law is outdated and no longer fulfills a meaningful purpose and should therefore be reviewed. If that is the case, there is no point in keeping it. It is not a question of convenience. Simply, does it fulfill the purpose today for which is was originally intended? Personally, I doubt it is a useful law, society has changed a lot since then. 

 

Well said

[AusBill]

9 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Well I have news for you try any normal shop or 7/11 in Oz to buy alcohol is a no no you can only buy alcohol in bottleshops but they are open all day not in supermarkets but some have a bottleshop attached but not in a supermarket or 7/11

The supermarket rule seems to be only Queensland. Aldi in NSW was selling cheap Leo, so we would drive across the border to buy. 

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, Joules said:

Every time that happens to me, I just smile back and walk away without a word, leaving the basket of half-checked goods behind me.   He who has the last laugh . . .

Left to the staff, they would happily check out your booze. The problem with the big organisations is their EPOS system. the clock is accurate and the till simply will not accept the sale. If it is just because the idiot in front of you mucked up his payment and took 5 minutes to sort, the supervisor or manager does have the authority to override the system and allow the sale. This has happened to me at 7/11, in several places.

You might need to get stroppy to get the service, however.

[JonnyF]

24 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Can't get to worked up it it's a small inconvenience to put up with 

We all know or most of us here in Thailand the times you can buy and not to buy

It's available in some  places for those in the know if you are really desperate for a drink 

I don't think anyone is getting worked up. They are just pointing out that it is an outdated pointless law. We all know multiple ways around it, which just reinforces the fact that it is pointless.

 

When laws are so obviously pointless, it makes breaking the law socially and morally acceptable. It becomes a habit for otherwise law abiding, considerate, reasonable people. Essentially, it makes people lose respect for the law and those legislating and enforcing it.

 

The sensible thing to do would be to revoke it. But, we all know how common sense is applied here so I'm sure it will stay for a few more decades, inconveniencing tourists and locals alike.

[JRG23]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

introduced by a military junta in 1972

Err. No. Wasn't it introduced by the Taksin Shin administration?

Edited March 18, 2022 by JRG23

[bstafford214]

15 hours ago, Whale said:

By the will of God and the Lord Buddha NOoooooooo. You drunken lecherous prai and farangs cannot be trusted to not become drunks and commit all kinds of sins.

Is this meant to be sarcastic?

[bstafford214]

14 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

When shopping at Big C, Tesco etc. Its really annoying when you get to the checkout at 2.05pm and they remove it from the belt and say NO ALCOHOL (with a smile).

 

I reckon, sometimes they enjoy saying that to foreigners.

 

It's because the cash registered is tied to a computer program and they can't ring it up during those times. I did this once at 4:55pm and I could not buy it. So I waited till 5pm and she kept looking at the clock on the register and at 5pm she could ring it up for me, 555555.

[Whale]

6 minutes ago, bstafford214 said:

Is this meant to be sarcastic?

I will consider my reply over an afternoon beer.

[bstafford214]

9 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Here's a street view of the 7-11 and school in Hua Hin. Don't think it's higher-ed. Maybe rules interpreted differently by certain juristictions? I asked staff and they told me because of the school. That's what they said (and they definitely did not have any alcohol displays).

These managers don't have any common sense or it is the local Hua Hin government that made their own interpretation of the law. Common sense would tell you that the store can't sell alcohol to children. The one theory is that the local government does not trust any Thai staff to not sell to children, which many do anyway where I live. My nephew is only 14 and he goes and buys beer for me on his scooter without a driver's license and wearing no helmet. I keep telling him to get his license and wear a helmet, but he doesn't listen to me, why should he. I do give him money for getting it for me since the store sells it to him. 5555555

  

[KhunBENQ]

4 hours ago, Cleareye said:

Was that law really introduced in 1972?

Yes! And no, it was not Thaksin and not even his military successors.

It was just another military regime.

[Henryford]

I bet most alcoholic Thais buy their booze from mom and pop shops who sell it at any time.

[LukKrueng]

15 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

 

I reckon, sometimes they enjoy saying that to foreigners.

Yeah, you're correct. So many stupid laws are made just to p*ss off foreigners.

[Misterwhisper]

I'm confused. I always thought that absurd alcohol buying ban was introduced by former interior minister Purachai (a.k.a. Puritan-chai) Piemsomboon during the Thaksin administration in the early 2000s. Or did he just re-instate a 1972 junta law? 

[LukKrueng]

4 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

That alcohol sales law doesn't do what it is designed to do. Why keep a law that is flawed? TiT, where progress is in your future.

A while back I watched a documentary about silly laws in different places around the world. The 1 that stuck in memory is a law in Israel that forbid fishing in the dead sea. I don't think anyone can trump this 1...