Thai Alcohol Control Committee opposes selling booze till 4 AM

[LALes]

Thankfully, a moment of sanity by the govt. refusing to bow to the alcoholic lobby.

[crazykopite]

24 minutes ago, smedly said:

wow - glad you have no say in the matter

I agree with your remark I’m 71 years young we have an eating place by me that is open 24 / 7 sometimes if I cannot sleep I go there could be 2,3,4 or 5 in the morning and very occasionally I might fancy a beer or glass of wine with my chicken omelette what’s wrong with that they could reduce accidents by making sure that there is a proper driving test and that those driving have the correct license for that particular vehicle there are many Thais who don’t hold a license and there are many who even fail the simple tick box test 

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I thought it was midnight except in entertainment zones?

Probably correct..

However a restaurant near my home [closed all day opens at 6pm] thinks it's a bar and stays open playing live music to the whole residential neighbourhood until 2am now..

if 4am was allowed I'm sure they would extend opening too.

[herfiehandbag]

1 hour ago, riverhigh said:

The alcohol control committee has my full support. There is no need whatsoever for people to be drinking in bars until 4 am. These self-absorbed baby adults running around, shouting and playing loud music without consideration for anyone else. The good people who get up early in the mourning to go to work and contribute to society should not be deprived of a good night's sleep. 

 

1 hour ago, smedly said:

wow - glad you have no say in the matter

A real bundle of fun - I should imagine a great neighbour.

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

all this is doing is pushing people to drinking behind closed doors and hiding - hardly satisfactory is it

As they are citing the risk of more road accidents I guess that 'pushing people to drinking behind closed doors' is exactly what they are aiming for.

[sambum]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

it doesn't stop people drinking - it increases flexibility especially enetertainment venues in tourist locations which are right now being constantly harrassed by police who's time would be better spent policing the roads for drunks driving and killing people.

 

stupid nonesense as usual from this crowd who don't think of anything else but their own ego's 

 

all this is doing is pushing people to drinking behind closed doors and hiding - hardly satisfactory is it 

A few years ago in the UK, they increased the drinking hours in Scotland. The Scots had a reputation for a high level of drunkenness, so most people thought (me included) that this would make the situation even worse, but in actual fact the level of drunkenness went DOWN. The reason being that people only have a certain amount of cash to spend on booze, and when you increase the drinking hours they have to make that cash last a bit longer. So the  "binge drinking" went down, people spent longer consuming the same amount of alcohol, and the level of drunkenness went down - Simples! 

[jaywalker2]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Another nonsense statement. How can you possibly know this? It would even seem illogical to claim restricting alcohol sales has had no impact on alcohol sales and consumption.

Look at the statistics. Alcohol consumption jumped from 6.5 liters per capita when the law was introduced to 8.4 in 2018 (precovid, of course it went up during the lockdowns). The percentage of the population that regularly consumes alcohol has remained steady at  between 30-33 percent.  Recreational drinking is more popular than it has ever been, especially among teenagers. Road fatalities have more than doubled with drinking the leading cause. 

 

This despite the global trend of reduced alcohol consumption and the Thai government's anti-alcohol campaigns.

 

Anyway, why would anybody think that not letting people buy alcohol until 11 in the morning and between 2-5 in the afternoon would have any appreciable effect on alcohol consumption.  Only alcoholics drink during those hours.

[smedly]

33 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

As they are citing the risk of more road accidents I guess that 'pushing people to drinking behind closed doors' is exactly what they are aiming for.

behind closed doors means with customers inside and shutters down,

 

you cannot stop people drink driving by limiting  opening hours by 2 hours 

[NoshowJones]

8 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

They need to close at 4 AM because it stops kids buying alcohol on the way to School 

Kids going to school at 4 am?????

[Mickeymaus]

Somehow a good sign. It shows that the alcohol and entertainment lobby doesn't always win. 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

Look at the statistics. Alcohol consumption jumped from 6.5 liters per capita when the law was introduced to 8.4 in 2018 (precovid, of course it went up during the lockdowns). The percentage of the population that regularly consumes alcohol has remained steady at  between 30-33 percent.  Recreational drinking is more popular than it has ever been, especially among teenagers. Road fatalities have more than doubled with drinking the leading cause. 

 

This despite the global trend of reduced alcohol consumption and the Thai government's anti-alcohol campaigns.

 

Anyway, why would anybody think that not letting people buy alcohol until 11 in the morning and between 2-5 in the afternoon would have any appreciable effect on alcohol consumption.  Only alcoholics drink during those hours.

"Only alcoholics drink during those hours."

 

Garbage!

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

if 4am was allowed I'm sure they would extend opening too.

Some places do irrespective.... until the last customer departs.

[kingstonkid]

4 hours ago, crazykopite said:

I agree with your remark I’m 71 years young we have an eating place by me that is open 24 / 7 sometimes if I cannot sleep I go there could be 2,3,4 or 5 in the morning and very occasionally I might fancy a beer or glass of wine with my chicken omelette what’s wrong with that they could reduce accidents by making sure that there is a proper driving test and that those driving have the correct license for that particular vehicle there are many Thais who don’t hold a license and there are many who even fail the simple tick box test 

I am in the same boat as you.  The solution is going to have to be that the police set up check points outside these establishments.

 

The other rule that they have in Canada would be interesting here. 

 

If you serve someone that is drunk and they get into an accident you as the provider as just as guilty and libel as the driver. 

 

You come to my house have a few beers and are a little over the limit go out and hit another car.  I can be sued and charged just like the driver.

 

Bands in Bars used to start at 9 pm  then they moved the closing time back so they come on at 10.  Does that mean that bar bands would start playing at midnight?

 

 

[sambum]

4 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

 

A real bundle of fun - I should imagine a great neighbour.

Exactly - it says as much in the post:- 

 

4 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

 

A real bundle of fun - I should imagine a great neighbour.

It says as much in the post:- 

 

"The good people who get up early in the mourning to go to work......" 

[kingstonkid]

3 hours ago, sambum said:

A few years ago in the UK, they increased the drinking hours in Scotland. The Scots had a reputation for a high level of drunkenness, so most people thought (me included) that this would make the situation even worse, but in actual fact the level of drunkenness went DOWN. The reason being that people only have a certain amount of cash to spend on booze, and when you increase the drinking hours they have to make that cash last a bit longer. So the  "binge drinking" went down, people spent longer consuming the same amount of alcohol, and the level of drunkenness went down - Simples! 

T I T  lol

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

Anyway, why would anybody think that not letting people buy alcohol until 11 in the morning and between 2-5 in the afternoon would have any appreciable effect on alcohol consumption.  Only alcoholics drink during those hours.

They are more like my shopping hours! Bloody bad planning closing sales just when I am sober.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

The concept of drunk tourists who don't drive causing more traffic accidents still eludes me. Do what they want with Thai nightlife venues, but at least let the tourist-oriented ones open late. They're going to drink anyway - the only question is whether it's in a safe establishment with proper fire exits, or in a hole-in-the-wall overcrowded with no safety protocols and nice donations to hardworking BIB.

It's actually quite ridiculous how in Phuket everything is open until 4am and some later, yet in Bangkok proper clubs close 2am. You'd think the larger city would have better nightlife, but TiT.

[sambum]

6 hours ago, riverhigh said:

The alcohol control committee has my full support. There is no need whatsoever for people to be drinking in bars until 4 am. These self-absorbed baby adults running around, shouting and playing loud music without consideration for anyone else. The good people who get up early in the mourning to go to work and contribute to society should not be deprived of a good night's sleep. 

"..........should not be deprived of a good night's sleep."

 

Would you like to have a word with the owners whose dogs incessant barking and howling deprive me of a good night's sleep?   

[PingRoundTheWorld]

3 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

This despite the global trend of reduced alcohol consumption and the Thai government's anti-alcohol campaigns.

Pretty sure that a large percentage of young Thais drink because of this government....

[keithkarmann]

Shortening the drinking hours leads to people drinking faster. People only have so much money and it is Logical that by extending the hours people will drink slower. But here Logical is not in the dictionary. Opening until four will also give the short time girls time to fit in another customer or two.

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, riverhigh said:

The alcohol control committee has my full support. There is no need whatsoever for people to be drinking in bars until 4 am. These self-absorbed baby adults running around, shouting and playing loud music without consideration for anyone else. The good people who get up early in the mourning to go to work and contribute to society should not be deprived of a good night's sleep. 

Agree. There are people in my condo who come in drunk as lords at 2 am, along with noise. 4 am would be even worse.

 

An extra 2 hours of ingesting alcohol means even more impairment of driving ability, as any police officer doing traffic duty will tell you. How much public transport is there at 4 am?

 

The three factors in the vast majority of road accidents are speed, alcohol, and fatigue. Extending hours means at least two out of three, contrary to Meat Loaf's ( RIP ) assertion, that is bad.

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, sambum said:

A few years ago in the UK, they increased the drinking hours in Scotland. The Scots had a reputation for a high level of drunkenness, so most people thought (me included) that this would make the situation even worse, but in actual fact the level of drunkenness went DOWN. The reason being that people only have a certain amount of cash to spend on booze, and when you increase the drinking hours they have to make that cash last a bit longer. So the  "binge drinking" went down, people spent longer consuming the same amount of alcohol, and the level of drunkenness went down - Simples! 

Comparing Scots with Thais is nonsense, entirely different genetic inheritances. The Scots have a fair amount of Scandinavian genes in their makeup, enabling them to detoxify alcohol faster.

Your post omitted to mention clubs and bars in Scotland close at 2 am, not the 4 am that is being opposed here. It also omitted any factual link to support the statement the level of drunkenness went down.

 

People need an extra 2 hours to get legless? How pathetic is that?

[sambum]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Comparing Scots with Thais is nonsense, entirely different genetic inheritances. The Scots have a fair amount of Scandinavian genes in their makeup, enabling them to detoxify alcohol faster.

Your post omitted to mention clubs and bars in Scotland close at 2 am, not the 4 am that is being opposed here. It also omitted any factual link to support the statement the level of drunkenness went down.

 

People need an extra 2 hours to get legless? How pathetic is that?

"It also omitted any factual link to support the statement the level of drunkenness went down."

 

Dr Christopher Clayson was put in charge of a Committee in 1972 whose findings led to a change in the law in 1976. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Dr Clayson in 2003 by Professor Martin Plant, who was Associate  Editor for M.C.A. (Medical Council on Alcohol) 

 

"M.P.: One thing that appears to have improved is the officially recorded level of drunkenness. In the year that your report was published, nearly 12 000 people were convicted of drunkenness offences. These have declined to about 700 people a year."

 

"Your post omitted to mention clubs and bars in Scotland close at 2 am, not the 4 am that is being opposed (proposed?) here."

 

The last I heard was that some clubs in Edinburgh were licensed to be open until 3 a.m., and from another review by a team led by Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson, concluded with "One of the major recommendations includes abolishing opening hours, which would in theory allow alcohol to be sold 24 hours a day."

 

"People need an extra 2 hours to get legless? How pathetic is that?"

 

Personally, I usually get my drinking done between 6.30 p,m. and 10.30 p.m., but I am long since retired (19 years) and do not "party" any more! However, if I was a twenty something single here on holiday, I would like the opportunity to drink until the early hours if I wanted to! I think that the point being made is that the Tourist Industry is desperate to attract the type of holidaymaker that will spend money, and the young singles will do that.

[Boomer6969]

This implies that they believe that the mainstream Thai at 8pm is unable to plan a night of drinking and debauchery.

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Comparing Scots with Thais is nonsense, entirely different genetic inheritances. The Scots have a fair amount of Scandinavian genes in their makeup, enabling them to detoxify alcohol faster.

I knew it, it's all the bloody vikings fault, coming over here with their horns on their helmets, pissing it up all hours, skewing the statistics on alcohol consumption...

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, sambum said:

"It also omitted any factual link to support the statement the level of drunkenness went down."

 

Dr Christopher Clayson was put in charge of a Committee in 1972 whose findings led to a change in the law in 1976. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Dr Clayson in 2003 by Professor Martin Plant, who was Associate  Editor for M.C.A. (Medical Council on Alcohol) 

 

"M.P.: One thing that appears to have improved is the officially recorded level of drunkenness. In the year that your report was published, nearly 12 000 people were convicted of drunkenness offences. These have declined to about 700 people a year."

 

"Your post omitted to mention clubs and bars in Scotland close at 2 am, not the 4 am that is being opposed (proposed?) here."

 

The last I heard was that some clubs in Edinburgh were licensed to be open until 3 a.m., and from another review by a team led by Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson, concluded with "One of the major recommendations includes abolishing opening hours, which would in theory allow alcohol to be sold 24 hours a day."

 

"People need an extra 2 hours to get legless? How pathetic is that?"

 

Personally, I usually get my drinking done between 6.30 p,m. and 10.30 p.m., but I am long since retired (19 years) and do not "party" any more! However, if I was a twenty something single here on holiday, I would like the opportunity to drink until the early hours if I wanted to! I think that the point being made is that the Tourist Industry is desperate to attract the type of holidaymaker that will spend money, and the young singles will do that.

It would be interesting to get real data on how much is contributed to the Thai economy by 2-week tourist Hooray Henrys, and how much is contributed by retirees like me who are supporting Thai families.

 

Give me a break here. Somebody who wants to go on a binge can drink from 5 pm to 2 am. If nine hours of boozing is not enough, said person is heading for DT.

 

 

[sambum]

31 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

It would be interesting to get real data on how much is contributed to the Thai economy by 2-week tourist Hooray Henrys, and how much is contributed by retirees like me who are supporting Thai families.

 

Give me a break here. Somebody who wants to go on a binge can drink from 5 pm to 2 am. If nine hours of boozing is not enough, said person is heading for DT.

 

 

I am in the same situation as you! I am married to a Thai wife, and all that that entails!

 

And on the subject of who contributes more to the Thai economy is also a sore subject with me. I contribute considerably more than half a million baht every year to the economy - how many tourists can say that?. Throughout the Covid epidemic that has got to have been a lifeline for many small Thai businesses, without which no doubt a lot of them would have "gone under". And I still get called "Alien" on my visa application! 

 

On the other hand, a tourist will probably spend much more on a 4 week holiday than I spend in a month, and that is what the Departments like TAT want  - to boost their (made up?) figures.

 

However, getting back on topic, a (typical) tourist's day probably consists of getting up (lateish, because a holiday also includes "lie ins"), having breakfast, and then either heading to the beach, or renting a scooter and seeing a bit of the surrounding area (depending on location - obviously if they are in Bangkok it will probably involve shopping at some stage!) And then back to the hotel for a "bit of a kip", then a S**T, shave and shower, and out for a meal/dinner! By the time you've had dinner (which will probably finish at 9 'ish,) you are THEN ready to PARTY! And after you've had one or two drinks, you just want it to go ON and ON and ON! After all, you're on holiday, right?

(P.S. I can remember going to a "Coffee Bar" called Thermae in Bangkok many years ago that used to be open 'til all hours, and was frequented by the girls from the bars who hadn't been lucky enough to get bar fined at their "regular job"!) 

So, the reason they want to extend the drinking hours is obvious - MONEY!!!!

[Dart12]

12 hours ago, riverhigh said:

The alcohol control committee has my full support. There is no need whatsoever for people to be drinking in bars until 4 am. These self-absorbed baby adults running around, shouting and playing loud music without consideration for anyone else. The good people who get up early in the mourning to go to work and contribute to society should not be deprived of a good night's sleep. 

Are you the guy that rents above the bar and has a fire pole in the floor to get to your saved bar seat quickly?

[Lucky Bones]

10 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

 

A real bundle of fun - I should imagine a great neighbour.

Life of the party.

Guessing he's never climbed up onto his roof to abuse people.????????

[ElenDen]