Report Mobile Liquor Labs Roll Out for Safer Thai Booze

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of MCI

 

The Excise Department is revolutionising local liquor production by launching "Community Liquor Lab on Wheels", a programme introducing free alcohol quality testing across three Thai provinces. Announced by Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul, the unique initiative aims to elevate standards of locally crafted spirits, ensuring they are both safe and high-quality for consumers.

 

Targeting community-driven liquor production, the programme will deploy mobile laboratories in Lampang, Sakon Nakhon, and Songkhla, key regions known for local alcohol crafting.

 

The labs offer complimentary analysis services, verifying product classification, assessing alcohol strength, and screening potential hazards like arsenic, lead, and methanol. This move is poised to play a vital role in enlightening producers and the public on liquor safety standards.

 

Previously, quality checks could only be completed at the Excise Department's main facilities, often proving inconvenient for remote producers. Paopoom explained that the mobile labs will significantly increase accessibility, making quality testing faster and more consumer-friendly in areas rich in community liquor ventures.

 

With 2,119 registered local alcohol producers, the department sees the potential for substantial growth in safe, high-quality production within this booming sector.

 

Crucially, the programme offers these services without charge, underscoring the government's commitment to fostering a safe environment for community alcohol production. By enhancing public trust and health, the Excise Department not only ensures product safety but also supports the sustained development of Thailand's artisan liquor scene.

 

As these mobile units roll out, fundamentally changing the landscape of local beverage production, more opportunities arise for producers to focus on crafting superior, safer beverages.

 

The initiative reflects a significant government-led effort to enhance public health, consumer confidence, and the overall quality of local liquors.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-06-06

 

 

[JoePai]

government-led effort to enhance public health

 

By promoting this rot gut ??

[KhunLA]

Mind boggling.   Are they that ignorant, or tax revenue more important than health.   They should be banning alcohol & tobacco products, not encouraging their use. 🥵

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

They should be banning alcohol & tobacco products, not encouraging their use. 🥵

Everyone is entitled to their poison.. 

[SS1]

Why not do the same with drugs, instead of the pointless war on them, trying to punish drug users. Focus on harm reduction and help instead, and see the results. Some countries in Europe now have mobile drug labs to test substances and advice their users on their effects and dangers. 

[KhunLA]

34 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Everyone is entitled to their poison.. 

I agree 100% ... BUT ... there's always a but 

 

IF, having health issue attributed to alcohol & tobacco use, universal healthcare shouldn't cover medical cost.  Self inflicted injury, shouldn't cost others money to treat.

 

If you kill someone drunk driving, death penalty or life in jail seems appropriate.

 

Live with Your Choices ... or consequences of.

[impulse]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The labs offer complimentary analysis services, verifying product classification, assessing alcohol strength, and screening potential hazards like arsenic, lead, and methanol. This move is poised to play a vital role in enlightening producers and the public on liquor safety standards.

 

I'm not sure if the technology exists at an affordable price but it would be great to have a paper dip-strip test that you could keep with you to see if there's methanol, ethylene glycol, bug spray, etc. in whatever they're serving you.

 

Lacking that, I always tell my friends visiting Asia not to drink anything served in a bucket.  Not an issue for me since I took the oath in the '80s.  Which usually makes me the designated driver.

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

I guess the metal spoon and lighted match test is now considered unreliable....😋

[bbbbooboo]

hmm… i wonder if lao kao would be passed as safe. More than

likelymi i suspect?

[Nickcage49]

That would be great if I drank the local rotgut. Quit Thai "whiskey" years ago.

[Grusa]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I'm not sure if the technology exists at an affordable price but it would be great to have a paper dip-strip test that you could keep with you to see if there's methanol, ethylene glycol, bug spray, etc. in whatever they're serving you.

 

Lacking that, I always tell my friends visiting Asia not to drink anything served in a bucket.  Not an issue for me since I took the oath in the '80s.  Which usually makes me the designated driver.

 

Oh. No problem. You need one of these! Available online, search 'tricorder'

[damascase]

A mobile drinking water lab would make a lot more sense, with river pollution in mind….

[richard_smith237]

16 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Mind boggling.   Are they that ignorant, or tax revenue more important than health.   They should be banning alcohol & tobacco products, not encouraging their use. 🥵

 

Yes.. because prohibition worked so well, didn't it... ?... 

[Garouda]

On 6/6/2025 at 8:45 AM, KhunLA said:

Mind boggling.   Are they that ignorant, or tax revenue more important than health.   They should be banning alcohol & tobacco products, not encouraging their use. 🥵

[KhunLA]

34 minutes ago, Garouda said:

I stopped smoking cigars 15+ years ago.  Though not sure I'd consider maybe 5 cigars a year, actually a smoking habit.  Strangely started around 1995.  Quickly phased it out, as dulls your taste buds for days.  And tasting food is way more important.

 

Smoked weed on & off for 30+ years, daily to weekly to monthly, to now, maybe half a doobie every other month or so.  Might of smoke 1 joint, in 2025.  No interest in smoking, but have a few 100 grams sitting at the house.  Will probably go to waste, and gave most away to nephew, but he moved and lost contact with him.

 

Only started smoking weed again, after 20+ year break, since decriminalized in TH.  Lost interest real quick, hence the stash.  Over bought 

 

I blame @BritManToo for that    ... finding weed for 5-8 baht  gram, and too cheap not to try again.  Remembered why I stopped smoking it to begin with, shortly after smoking.

 

Lack of reasonably price good Ale, wine or Bailey's here, keeps me from indulging.  Really no interest anyway.

 

Lungs are clear per last Xray, and Oxymeter tells me, have 95+% consistently.  Definitely not an issue.  Full abdominal CT Scan & blood work assures me, all normal & healthy for a 70 yr old.

 

BP, Glucose, HDL/LDL/Trig, Apob, and ratios of, all excellent.

 

These are all numbers everyone should know at our 'mature' age.

 

Oct 2008, siting poolside at Sherton Suk  might have been my last cigar ... 

 

 

There is NO CURE PAIN ....

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Lack of reasonably price good Ale, wine or Bailey's here, keeps me from indulging.  Really no interest anyway.

Fake Baileys

1 TSP Nescafé red cup coffee

2 TSP Milo malt drink

Mix with 1/2 cup of hot water

 

Add

2-3 TSP sweetened condensed milk

60-80ml rum

Add ice and blend.

 

Tastes pretty good!

 

[KhunLA]

25 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Fake Baileys

1 TSP Nescafé red cup coffee

2 TSP Milo malt drink

Mix with 1/2 cup of hot water

 

Add

2-3 TSP sweetened condensed milk

60-80ml rum

Add ice and blend.

 

Tastes pretty good!

 

Made fake Bailey's with Jameson.  Turn out too good, and made a bit too often.  I can drink a whole bottle Bailey's in one sitting, so avoid buying it, or making.  Damn tasty stuff.

 

One of the only alcohols the wife will drink, and we'll polish off a bottle over ice way too quick, sitting surfside.

 

Early years here before extending visa, use to hop over Udon to Vientiane for 90 day thingy, and bring back a couple bottles.  Half price there.  Didn't last long, and great creamer for morning coffee 

[richard_smith237]

53 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Made fake Bailey's with Jameson.  Turn out too good, and made a bit too often.  I can drink a whole bottle Bailey's in one sitting, so avoid buying it, or making.  Damn tasty stuff.

 

One of the only alcohols the wife will drink, and we'll polish off a bottle over ice way too quick, sitting surfside.

 

Early years here before extending visa, use to hop over Udon to Vientiane for 90 day thingy, and bring back a couple bottles.  Half price there.  Didn't last long, and great creamer for morning coffee 

 

Its great mixed in equal measures with a Whisky in the cold weather of the UK at Christmas...  

 

 

But going back to your earlier comments:

On 6/6/2025 at 8:45 AM, KhunLA said:

Mind boggling.   Are they that ignorant, or tax revenue more important than health.   They should be banning alcohol & tobacco products, not encouraging their use. 🥵

 

I think you've been particularly selective here...  

 

Of course there is a spectrum and a line somewhere where someones vice can become a burden to society, some more so than others..  but I'll compare 'smoking, alcohol and diet' and show that your comments, while valid, are also slightly misplaced when regarding a bigger picture.

 

 

Smoking generates complex burden on the UK economy, both through direct healthcare spending and wider societal costs.

£2.2 billion in direct costs to the NHS for treating smoking-related illnesses, including cancers, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular conditions. 

£1.4 billion in social care costs associated with supporting individuals suffering from smoking-related chronic diseases. 

£17.6 billion in indirect costs due to lost productivity, sickness absence, premature death, and additional burdens on the welfare system. 

£0.6 billion from smoking-related fire damage and associated emergency services.

Total Economic Burden: £21.8 billion per year in England alone.

Tobacco Tax Revenue: Approximately £8.8 billion annually, which does not fully offset the broader societal costs.

 

 

Alcohol does have a significant societal cost with a substantial economic burden on the UK:

In England alone, alcohol-related harm costs society approximately £27.4 billion per year, as reported by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) in 2024. 

This includes £4.9 billion in NHS and healthcare costs, covering hospital admissions, ambulance services, and treatments for alcohol-related conditions.

The criminal justice system bears £14.6 billion in costs due to alcohol-related crimes, including violence, theft, and criminal damage.ias.org.uk

Lost productivity and social care services account for the remaining £7.9 billion, reflecting absenteeism, unemployment, and support for affected families.

It's also important to note that alcohol tax revenues, estimated at £12.5 billion annually, which falls short short of covering these societal costs.

 

 

The growing economic burden of processed foods:

A 2024 report by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) estimates that unhealthy diets - particularly those high in ultra-processed foods - cost the UK economy approximately £268 billion annually. This figure encompasses both direct and indirect costs.

£92 billion in direct government expenditures on health and social care services addressing diet-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

£176 billion in indirect costs, including reduced productivity, welfare spending, and the human costs associated with chronic illnesses and premature mortality.

Notably, ultra-processed foods constitute over half of the UK adult diet and nearly two-thirds of the adolescent diet, contributing significantly to the nation's health issues.

 

 

As noted above: The cost of processed foods to the UK economy is 10x greater than that of Alcohol and Tobacco.

I use the UK example because there are no figures for Thailand, yet those figures in principle can be transferable across nations.

 

Thus: If you want to ban smoking and alcohol for the purposes of public health - where do you draw the line ? especially when we can see how far more damaging processed foods are to society... 

 

 

There’s another dimension to consider: I’ve played sports all my life and maintained good health and fitness throughout. Yet now, I face an additional burden - injuries that require medical treatment.

Should my sporting activities have been subject to higher taxes to help offset these emerging healthcare costs?

 

This raises the perennial question: where do we draw the line between what is acceptable and what crosses into excess?

 

Perhaps the answer lies in accepting our humanity - that people will naturally seek out activities they enjoy. If someone chooses to smoke, so be it, provided it doesn’t harm others. Yes, smoking does impose an economic burden, but there are far weightier challenges society must address first. Personally, I would not want to live in a society that exerts such rigid control over its citizens’ choices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Back to the topic: 

 

Given the recent Methanol poisoning in Laos this is obvious a necessary and excellent idea.

 

However, in practice how wide spread and how effective would it truly be ?...  will there be any true impact at all beyond this 'announcement'...

... and we all know how 'Thailand' loves an 'announcement' but fails to carry out any genuine follow up of what was announced !!!... 

 

 

I would like to see Fake / Bootlegged Alcohol industry targeted more seriously...   Fake booze is rife in Thailand - its difficult to go out to a bar and not get fake booze these days...  (unless a higher end place).

... I drink neat Whisky, or on the Rocks, and so many times I do so, I can taste that the Whisky is fake...