Alcohol Warning Labels Not A Trade Barrier For Thailand

[webfact]

Alcohol warning labels not a trade barrier

By The Nation

Dr Saman Futrakul

The Public Health Ministry will explain to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the regulation requiring alcohol drinks to carry warning messages and photos, just like cigarette packages, was not an attempt to block trade, a senior official said yesterday.

In March, some WTO countries such as Mexico, America and Japan raised concerns that this regula?tion would add unnecessary expenses and was too strict.

Dr Saman Futrakul, director of the Disease Control Department's Office of Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco Consumption Control Committee, said yesterday he would present the reasons to WTO while he was in Switzerland yes?terday and today. Though the WTO does not have a say in this internal matter, Thailand would confirm that this measure wasn't a trade barrier, he added.

Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, however, said he hadn't received a report about the regulation yet and he would be willing to consider it, provided it passed through civil service proce?dures and official considerations.

The draft regulation was sub?mitted to the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, on December 23. The committee is currently setting up a subpanel to proceed with it.

Director of the AntiAlcohol Organisations' Network, Songkran Pakchokdee, said the regulation requiring warning messages and photos on alcoholic beverages was doable and necessary because it affected people in various aspects including health, family life, social issues and road accidents. He hoped Saman was successful in explaining to WTO the need for all brands, locally made or otherwise, to carry warning messages.

"If Thailand implemented this regulation, it would be the pioneer," he said, adding that alcoholic drinks and cigarettes were harm?ful to health and society, and shouldn't really be considered for free trade like other goods. He vowed to continue campaigning to support this regulation.

-- The Nation 2010-06-25

[gotlost]

Excellent idea.

[ducksonspeed]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

[Thai at Heart]

I wonder if the bottles will need the warnings put on at the port. It is enough hassle that everything imported needs the ridiculous customs strip added by hand.

An extra logistical nightmare and cost for the "small" importer.

[jonclark]

So, from this article can we conclude that in the next few months, years? we are going to see warning labels and pictures (of people pissed??/ bloated livers) on bottles of Chang and Johnny Walker. After that it'll be pictures of clotted arteries on cake boxes and a free post card of a road accident every time you fill up at a garage.

[Briggsy]

Thailand's alcoholic drinks lobby is very connected and has been extremely effective over the years in maintaining the cartel.

Expect more obfuscating, disingenuous stalling tactics to keep choice out of reach of the Thai consumer. It's Chang, Leo, Saeng Som or get back on the lao khao or pay ridiculous duty on imported wine and beers.

[mahtin]

Songkran Pakchokdee?

The guy must have a problem with his name.

[bkkjames]

What does the label on the bottle white death look like?

[JusMe]

"Director of the AntiAlcohol Organisations' Network, Songkran Pakchokdee, said 'If Thailand implemented this regulation, it would be the pioneer,'"

It's been a while, but I'm sure I've seen printed warnings on alcohol sold in Canada. No pictures, but there's a written warning.

Probably about as effective in reducing sales as we'd expect the same here

[Danny79]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

This strongly depends on the approach of rising the prices.

If I look at how the prices for tobacco went up here in Belgium, it looked more like a way of dragging slowly more money out of the people's pockets then scare them for the high prices.

During a period of several years the price of a package of cigarettes went up from 1.8€ to 5.2€, this went in such slow way that actually there hasn't been any improvement on the amount of smokers but a big one on the amount of cash flowing direction of gvt (again)

[djayz]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

Not always. If the price of alcohol or tobacco or the tax on alcohol and tobacco is increased too much, it often creates a smuggling problem (and smuggling related crime). There are numerous cases where states increased, albeit the tax, of alcohol or tobacco and this created an incentive to smuggle. In my opinion it would make more sense to educate people on the health issues related to alcohol abuse and smoking.

[Suttisan]

Wasn't there supposed to be free trade with ASEAN beers this year? i read about 6 months ago that the likes of Beer lao and Vietnamese beer was going to be available in the super markets?

[asiawatcher]

Alas all, for what real purpose? To appear to be protecting the public? Sounds like another way to create an income - reprint labels, fines for those who don't et al. Oh well - T I T.

[zthyadat]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

Really? It didn't work in Scandanavia...

[evanson]

<br>What does the label on the bottle white death look like?<br>

<br><br><i>Exactly</i>. As I sit here having just broken into my caretaker's bottle of imported Absolut<img class="bbc_emoticon" alt="" src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif">, well he doesn't drink<img class="bbc_emoticon" alt="" src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif">, which is slipping down my throat as smooth <i>as</i> (same same couple of bottles of Captain Morgan's spiced rum brought over by a chum xmas ago), I, not for the first time wonder what bloody planet they're on.<br><br>Okay for some poor sod to die in their 30's, 40's and 50's from that gutrot Laokao (which I believe wholeheartedly to be the primary cause of alcohol related deaths in this country). Go to any government hospital and take a peek at the Terminal ward and how many re in there. And no, I'm not discounting fags, the two are usually used together). That'll put you off. <br><br>But bet the hiso's, ugh, only drink imported, and not that almost equally noxious gutrot that is another of this country's 'fake' goods. <br><br>Wonder why you never see pics on the tv showing them pouring that shit down the drain same same burning of handbags/cds/designer t shirts, etc? Wouldn't be anythin to do with the Big Families in this song na country making sheds full of money out of the shit out of it would it?<br><br>As an see, see the buggers lower the tax on imported wine (rather than having it end up in the corrupt Customs department coffers), and see the death rate plummet.<br>

[Jingthing]

There is no such thing as a healthy ciggie. There is such a thing as a healthy alcoholic drink. Gruesome pics on bottles of fine wine? Gimme a break!

[PhilHarries]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

And banning it altogether works even better like it did in the USA.

Jeez, there's one born every minute.

Doesn't really matter anyway, once the bottle is in the ondom you can't see the label so who cares?

Do they have labels on Lao Khaw bottles?

[Jingthing]

Probably save a LOT more lives by changing standards of food hygiene, issues with palm oil usage, and road safety/helmet usage education. I'd like to see big gruesome pictures on the windows of McDonalds too, that would be a kick.

[evanson]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

Wrong. They simply have to drink the local hooch aka shit, which will kill the poor; faster, and earlier.

[overhaul38]

I'm sure it will be an additional expense and discourage the manufacturers of alcoholic beverages shipped to Thailand

but I suspect that was only a fortunate side effect.

Possibly the other countries will make Thailand take the pictures off cans and bottles they export.

[TAWP]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

Incorrect, infact it has been proven that for some products the sale isn't linear to the price and as such people will not be properly discouraged from buying it just because the price goes up. For example, raised alcohol taxes are more likely to make rare drinkers drink even less but heavy drinkers will sustain their amount - but just have a bigger financial hardship for doing it.

[astral]

Will this regulation apply to the hooch brewed in the villages.........

[evanson]

Money kills habits. It has been proven times over that if it is made expensive people do it less. Pictures are pictures that over time just get ignored.

Bullshit. If you're skint in the UK, you drink White Lightning, here it's the much deadlier Laokao.

The govt are a bunch of disingenuous pricks in the pockets of these scum, who are fare worse than any 'yabaa' seller.