Thailand Targets Tougher Alcohol Laws to Align with Global Norms

[metisdead]

A troll post and the inflammatory replies have been removed.

[Luuk Chaai]

11 hours ago, connda said:

I know that in America, you can't buy a beer from 2pm to 5pm every day of the week.  😁

say what Willis ?   no such thing

[PETERTHEEATER]

9 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Is there not a "mom and pop" store on your route ?

 

Yesterday 7am I did my grocery shopping at my local TOP's.... bought 2 bottles of JD over the road at the mom and pop store !

You're a JD Beer lover too?

https://vinepair.com/articles/jack-daniels-whiskey-beer-history/

 

[kiwikeith]

13 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

"AIMING" is the key word...With crooked cops and rampant pay off's, good luck with that.

They can't even enforce non helmet wearing, only put the fine up to 2000 bhat and grab a Falang 

[ikke1959]

That means a lot of work and will never happen.. In almost no country it is forbidden to sell alcohol before 11.00 and after 14.00 or on religious holidays..In not many countries are cheap wines so extreme taxed , and in many countries it is normal to watcha movie without blurred drinks... Besides that in many countries there is no law that forbid pics of drinking alcohol on facebook, as it is here seen as a promotion to drink.  In many countries the police test al lot of drivers on  alcohol consumption, day and night and 365 days a year, The fines for driving with too much alcohol are high and many drivers know that, not the low fines here in Thailand, Bartenders must keep an eye on too much alcoholconsumption in several countries and can and will refuse to sell more.

And there are many campaigns on TV , internet and billboards which are warning against drinking alcohol. And many more examples... But Thailand has ideas but it will not work as they don't enforce anything.. Sounds nice with the upcoming holidays but on the 5th of January 2025 everything is being forgotten already

[Bday Prang]

9 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Is there not a "mom and pop" store on your route ?

 

Yesterday 7am I did my grocery shopping at my local TOP's.... bought 2 bottles of JD over the road at the mom and pop store !

And there are people on here who would deny you that opportunity, not to mention the "over 30 anti alcohol advocacy groups"

[Bday Prang]

9 hours ago, loong said:

Strange, in my group of expat drinking buddies, the vast majority drink Leo or Chang!

As indeed does the overwhelming majority of just about everybody else I have ever seen out drinking

[Bday Prang]

6 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I guess that means they will scrap the silly law. It used to be like that in UK a long long time ago.

indeed it did with even more stringent restrictions on a sunday,  Some counties in Wales were "dry" on Sundays too, although that didn't apply to the working mens clubs and miners clubs I think they used to have a referendum in each county every 5 years 

[azdarrell]

10 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Way back when in the US booze could not be sold on Sundays. "Blue Laws". When governments finally started smelling the money to be made they eliminated that. In Thailand I believe originally there was a reason for the 2 - 5 ban, possibly to do with afternoon naps, or a king's decree, or something Buddhist. I think someone told me once but I forgot

 

 

[azdarrell]

Yes, I remember the Blue Laws. Had to buy all your booze on Sarurday!

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I for one would be pleased to see some change. The afternoon law is an old law that was resurrected by Thaksin and it has no logic to it particularly when it effects restaurants and people doing their shopping. There is no sense either to 12-11 when bars and clubs are open until 4am, why not make it 24 hours with the licensing for bars, restaurants and clubs made to suit. Thailand has plenty of "Dry Days" other countries don't have.

Alcohol might be a contributor to road accidents but the fact remains that drivers are not extensively tested to get a licence so the general standard of driving skill is not high enough. Also vehicle maintenance and road worthiness needs to be regularly tested. 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

1 hour ago, azdarrell said:

Yes, I remember the Blue Laws. Had to buy all your booze on Sarurday!

Was that before or after prohibition?

[soi3eddie]

13 hours ago, connda said:

If you want to align with European norms, you start drinking at lunch time.

 

If you want to align with British norms, drinking starts at 08:00am. Just visit any Wetherspoons pub.

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I would like to point out this headline is wrong. With the exception of some muslim and Scandinavian countries Thailand actually has fairly strict laws on the sale of alcohol and as the article suggests a loosening of the laws is required not more restrictions.

[soi3eddie]

9 hours ago, Oz82 said:

I've always found Thailand to be very uptight about alcohol consumption. Binge drinking is not a normal way of life like it is in western countries. Yes there are people getting drunk at bars on weekends, but society is far less alcohol oriented here than in the west. Tourist areas revolve around alcohol, and Thai people who hang around in tourist/expat areas, are often drinkers. But in normal Thai towns it isn't the norm, and being drunk is quite taboo here.

 

So, you've never been to the villages or hung around with younger male working class Thais? Being from the UK, and a family of pub owners, even I was shocked on arriving in Thailand in 2000 by bicycle, from Malaysia. Late afternoon, a group of lads in Narathiwat were drinking at a restaurant. They offered me beer (a no-no when I'm cycling). Then, once arriving in Songkhla, it was party central. Walking by the beach each night, picknicking Thais were offereing me Thai whisky and beer. Few farangs around there in those days. When I married in 2002, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we had 470 guests (on tables of 10) to our wedding party. Each table insisted that I shared a whisky shot. I tried to politely decline but had to sip more than I cared for. I do not agree with your statement above. 

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

10 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

 

So, you've never been to the villages or hung around with younger male working class Thais? Being from the UK, and a family of pub owners, even I was shocked on arriving in Thailand in 2000 by bicycle, from Malaysia. Late afternoon, a group of lads in Narathiwat were drinking at a restaurant. They offered me beer (a no-no when I'm cycling). Then, once arriving in Songkhla, it was party central. Walking by the beach each night, picknicking Thais were offereing me Thai whisky and beer. Few farangs around there in those days. When I married in 2002, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we had 470 guests (on tables of 10) to our wedding party. Each table insisted that I shared a whisky shot. I tried to politely decline but had to sip more than I cared for. I do not agree with your statement above. 

 

This is no surprise coming from a push biker. Sorry mate, you can eat nuts and drink bottled water but don't give us the holier than thou attitude. Jesus liked a glass of "whine" himself.

[kingstonkid]

20 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

How about: Pay now, or you have to walk.

I am sure they will learn very quickly. 

The problem with Pay Now is that after they pay, you are letting a drunk either behind the wheel or on the handlebars.  

 

Taking away their car and making them come back and pay the bills or do the requeset time behind bars when they are sober is not a bad idea.

 

 

I think a lot of Thais would have trouble, especially in the country, paying the fines, so let them do time.  

 

I had an old family friend that used to do the time every year.  The OPP used to have a list of maintenance repairs that needed done and he would do it for them at cost while dong his time in jail.

 

In Ontario, when they first started riding, cab companies paid to have cabs at checkpoints.  Checkpoints were always near a mall or large parking lot 

 

[Captor]

23 hours ago, pomchop said:

same in vietnam where no helmets especially in cities is extremely rare because if you don't wear one you do get caught and do have to pay a fine...so nearly 100% compliance.  

But they have a police force in Vietnam...

[Oz82]

11 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

So, you've never been to the villages or hung around with younger male working class Thais? Being from the UK, and a family of pub owners, even I was shocked on arriving in Thailand in 2000 by bicycle, from Malaysia. Late afternoon, a group of lads in Narathiwat were drinking at a restaurant. They offered me beer (a no-no when I'm cycling). Then, once arriving in Songkhla, it was party central. Walking by the beach each night, picknicking Thais were offereing me Thai whisky and beer. Few farangs around there in those days. When I married in 2002, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we had 470 guests (on tables of 10) to our wedding party. Each table insisted that I shared a whisky shot. I tried to politely decline but had to sip more than I cared for. I do not agree with your statement above. 

 

I live in the "villages" all of what you said is true. But that is nowhere near the level of drinking culture among working class Australians or Brits. What you described is just normal, and very mild compared to where I come from. And drinking is still taboo here. A few teachers have been fired from my school on the basis of "he/she is a drinker, this is not acceptable in our culture". And this is despite the fact that the Thai male teachers are quite heavy drinkers (but the female teachers don't dare to ever be seen drinking), but it's discreet and taboo to be seen drunk in public, whereas in western culture it is often celebrated.

[Scott Tracy]

21 hours ago, Oz82 said:

I've always found Thailand to be very uptight about alcohol consumption. Binge drinking is not a normal way of life like it is in western countries. Yes there are people getting drunk at bars on weekends, but society is far less alcohol oriented here than in the west. Tourist areas revolve around alcohol, and Thai people who hang around in tourist/expat areas, are often drinkers. But in normal Thai towns it isn't the norm, and being drunk is quite taboo here.

You want to come and look around the village in which I stay. Drunkenness is not a taboo here, it's an expectation...

[Oz82]

11 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

This is no surprise coming from a push biker. Sorry mate, you can eat nuts and drink bottled water but don't give us the holier than thou attitude. Jesus liked a glass of "whine" himself.

Exactly. What he described is normal all over the world (except for muslim countries) and I wouldn't call the people he described "drinkers". All sounds very mild and normal to me. The fact remains that Thai culture in general doesn't celebrate drinking.

[Oz82]

1 minute ago, Scott Tracy said:

You want to come and look around the village in which I stay. Drunkenness is not a taboo here, it's an expectation...

It's an expectation in western culture too. But in western culture people don't go around saying "he drinks on the weekends, therefore he's a bad man". And western employers don't threaten to fire you if you like to have a drink on the weekend.

[Oz82]

6 minutes ago, Scott Tracy said:

You want to come and look around the village in which I stay. Drunkenness is not a taboo here, it's an expectation...

It might also depend what part of Thailand you're in. Maybe it's more normal in Isan. Here in rural Lower-north, people are very conservative, and being drunk is frowned upon and done behind closed doors. Most people I see just bring a bottle of whiskey to a picnic and listen to some music, they aren't yelling and yahooing. They are mindful that being publicly drunk is taboo.

 

In addition to that it might depends on the backgrounds of you and the people around you. I come from a working class background and where I come from not getting drunk regularly is a bit unusual. And in Thailand I'm surrounded by middle and upper class Thais who like to drink but consider drunkenness taboo. If you come from a middle class background and are hanging around working class Thais you might have the opposite experience.

 

Thailand's relationship with alcohol is complicated. The laws are extremely strict, but not very enforced. There are so many public holidays where you can't buy alcohol, hours are heavily restricted. On the other hand you can buy alcohol in a convenience store, which is illegal where I come from.

[Andrew65]

5 minutes ago, Oz82 said:

It's an expectation in western culture too. But in western culture people don't go around saying "he drinks on the weekends, therefore he's a bad man". And western employers don't threaten to fire you if you like to have a drink on the weekend.

When I worked in Australia we had to breathalyse evey morning, and you had to 'blow-zero', weren't allowed to start work until you could.

[Oz82]

1 minute ago, Andrew65 said:

When I worked in Australia we had to breathalyse evey morning, and you had to 'blow-zero', weren't allowed to start work until you could.

Yeah that's due to the drinking culture. They wouldn't need to do that if drinking wasn't the norm.  If you work in jobs where you have to operate heavy machinery etc. They need to do that as they can't trust that people are sober when they come to work.

[Andrew65]

8 minutes ago, Oz82 said:

Yeah that's due to the drinking culture. They wouldn't need to do that if drinking wasn't the norm.  If you work in jobs where you have to operate heavy machinery etc. They need to do that as they can't trust that people are sober when they come to work.

On the one crew that I was on there was free beer in the evening, but we were told that this would stop if anyone 'blew-numbers' the next morning.

[Oz82]

Just now, Andrew65 said:

On the one crew that I was on there was free beer in the evening, but we were told that this would stop if anyone 'blew-numbers' the next morning.

They have had some education campaigns in Australia to try to explain you can still have alcohol in your system the next day. As a warning regarding drink driving. Australia takes drink driving very seriously. Thailand claims to, but only seems to check around New Years and Songkran. I was pretty alarmed when I first came here and saw everybody riding their motorbikes home from the bar at 4am.

[Andrew65]

2 minutes ago, Oz82 said:

They have had some education campaigns in Australia to try to explain you can still have alcohol in your system the next day. As a warning regarding drink driving. Australia takes drink driving very seriously. Thailand claims to, but only seems to check around New Years and Songkran. I was pretty alarmed when I first came here and saw everybody riding their motorbikes home from the bar at 4am.

Many years ago my brother lost his licence after getting caught the next morning, and in the UK it's a minimum of 12 months I think for drink driving.

[Ralf001]

8 hrs bottle to throttle is my mantra..........cept monday to friday where roadies are the go for the commute home.