Proposal To Raise Drinking Age To 21

[wilko]

Drinking in UK:

Drinking age: -

5 in private (and with parental consent)

I'm not from there... so can someone in the UK tell me if there is much of an outcry or organized protests from the 5 year olds demanding rights to drive cars, vote, and enter the military?

Anyone who keeps in touch with Reuters would be aware that this problem is relatively under control now; since the Nottingham riots of 2004 the "movement" has gone underground...or been sent to bed...

[barryofthailand]

20 January 2006 19:47

Just months after banning cigarette displays from shops, the Health Ministry expressed confidence that its latest initiatives – raising the legal drinking age to 21 and banning liquor advertising on television and radio – will succeed, despite the impact on business.

Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat announced this week that his agency would propose a bill that would potentially ban all television and radio liquor advertising and increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21.

Okay so what have we here?

Remember as with all irony there is a small part of truth…

You can become a professional soldier at the age of 18 in Thailand, be sent to the war zone in the South…that might kill you.

You can have a kid at the age of 18…raising another life.

You can drive a car at the age of 18 and the BKK traffic it will slowly kill you…

But now you have to be 21 years old to enjoy life…have fun with friends…and don’t give me the crap about having fun without alcohol…would you stand up and sing a karaoke song without alcohol?

So what will you do as an 18, 19, 20 year old who wants to spice up your no smoking, no sex, no life…life?

Well drugs would be easier to buy since probably no one will ask for an ID

Or more possible, get someone you know, like your older brother or sister or friend to buy the liquor for you…but where can you drink it...and get drunk?

Well yes of course!

In you car…

The next thing will be that Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, 7 Eleven, Macro and everyone else will have to hide the liquor like with the cigarettes…next up it will be the chili’s and the perfume, My mint, pineapples, chewing gum….

The next time you enter a 7 eleven their will only be a postbox where you can whisper into what you would like to buy…well and of course there will be prepaid telephone cards for AIS, DTAC and Orange so you can buy ringtones, dance and be happy with life.

The hardcore Muslims extremist in the south would start a new life in Iran or Iraq because life in Thailand had become harder than any of those....Aha! That might be the idea on the whole deal…they are doing this to solve the conflict in the South.

Well got a bit off track on the last part there…I should cut down on the Vodka have to go to school tomorrow.

How do you drink a "Phinij Jarusombat" anyway? Is it with salt and lemon?

You know you will here the truth from drunken kids….or is it…na never mind….

The age that the draft lotery is conducted for the army in Thailand is age 20, not 18. If they do change the drinking age to 21 they will probably change the draft lotery to age 21 as well. Anyway don't wory about Thais drinking put off to 21 because most Thais do not obey laws anyway. this is not meant to be disrespectful, it's a fact. just look the way people here drive.

Barry

[Oishi]

True the drafting age is 20 but you can volunter for the service at age 18. My brother in law has just turned 19 "celebrating" his birthday in the South...

Edited January 25, 2006 by Oishi

[Scott]

It's a good idea to raise the drinking age. Of course, everywhere in the world people can get around laws, but the longer you keep substances like alcohol away from the young folks the better. The lower the accident rate etc.

[Dragonman]

20 January 2006 19:47

Just months after banning cigarette displays from shops, the Health Ministry expressed confidence that its latest initiatives – raising the legal drinking age to 21 and banning liquor advertising on television and radio – will succeed, despite the impact on business.

Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat announced this week that his agency would propose a bill that would potentially ban all television and radio liquor advertising and increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21.

Okay so what have we here?

Remember as with all irony there is a small part of truth…

You can become a professional soldier at the age of 18 in Thailand, be sent to the war zone in the South…that might kill you.

You can have a kid at the age of 18…raising another life.

You can drive a car at the age of 18 and the BKK traffic it will slowly kill you…

But now you have to be 21 years old to enjoy life…have fun with friends…and don’t give me the crap about having fun without alcohol…would you stand up and sing a karaoke song without alcohol?

So what will you do as an 18, 19, 20 year old who wants to spice up your no smoking, no sex, no life…life?

Well drugs would be easier to buy since probably no one will ask for an ID

Or more possible, get someone you know, like your older brother or sister or friend to buy the liquor for you…but where can you drink it...and get drunk?

Well yes of course!

In you car…

The next thing will be that Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, 7 Eleven, Macro and everyone else will have to hide the liquor like with the cigarettes…next up it will be the chili’s and the perfume, My mint, pineapples, chewing gum….

The next time you enter a 7 eleven their will only be a postbox where you can whisper into what you would like to buy…well and of course there will be prepaid telephone cards for AIS, DTAC and Orange so you can buy ringtones, dance and be happy with life.

The hardcore Muslims extremist in the south would start a new life in Iran or Iraq because life in Thailand had become harder than any of those....Aha! That might be the idea on the whole deal…they are doing this to solve the conflict in the South.

Well got a bit off track on the last part there…I should cut down on the Vodka have to go to school tomorrow.

How do you drink a "Phinij Jarusombat" anyway? Is it with salt and lemon?

You know you will here the truth from drunken kids….or is it…na never mind….

The age that the draft lotery is conducted for the army in Thailand is age 20, not 18. If they do change the drinking age to 21 they will probably change the draft lotery to age 21 as well. Anyway don't wory about Thais drinking put off to 21 because most Thais do not obey laws anyway. this is not meant to be disrespectful, it's a fact. just look the way people here drive.

Barry

Exactly. Nobody around here cares a bit for this new law, they all just laugh. Watched my next door neighbour's 11 year old son coming back from the market this morning on his motorbike, no helmet, and you have to pass the police box coming and going

[sriracha john]

Exactly. Nobody around here cares a bit for this new law, they all just laugh. Watched my next door neighbour's 11 year old son coming back from the market this morning on his motorbike, no helmet, and you have to pass the police box coming and going

He's just following the example set by an excellent role model...the leader... the man in the highest office of the land... who also had to pass by the police :

[sriracha john]

PM blasted for watering down ban

Published on February 08, 2006

The Nation

Health advocates yesterday slammed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for watering down the Public Health Ministry’s proposal for a ban on alcohol advertising.

“I’m not surprised that Thaksin did that. It’s always been clear that this PM is more concerned about the interests of business and economy than with social issues,” said Senator Wallop Tangkananurak.

In his speech at a sporting event in Chiang Mai, Thaksin said he had ordered the proposed ban on advertising alcohol be revised according to a “happy medium” and an “international approach”.

“This government is full of pro-vice policies,” said Wallop. “From legalising the underground lottery to rejecting the total ban on alcohol advertising.”

“Legal soccer betting and casinos will come soon,” he added.

Thaksin also said on Monday that every other country allowed alcohol advertising to some degree.

Using an analogy, he said the human body needed 18 per cent of a virus to form antibodies to it.

“These days Thai society is already 90 per cent infected and this government still messes it up,” said the senator.

[meadish_sweetball]

If people like Mr. Wallop were in power, tourism to Thailand would decline very rapidly. As long as corruption reigns, you can make whatever laws you want, but will not be able to enforce them properly.

That being said, I don't see anything wrong with raising the legal drinking age to 21. Abandon is right in saying that due to the culture here, kids are typically more immature than their counterparts in the West at the same age.

Making a bit of a generalization, what is typically handled at age 13-18 in many Western countries (getting stinking drunk for the first time, having one's first sexual experiences, being allowed some freedom from your parents) happens at 19-21, or later, in Thailand.

Of course it will have the effects of increasing the proliferance of fake ID's etc., but it will probably still have a measurable effect on consumption.

[wilko]

That being said, I don't see anything wrong with raising the legal drinking age to 21. Abandon is right in saying that due to the culture here, kids are typically more immature than their counterparts in the West at the same age.

Making a bit of a generalization, what is typically handled at age 13-18 in many Western countries (getting stinking drunk for the first time, having one's first sexual experiences, being allowed some freedom from your parents) happens at 19-21, or later, in Thailand.

And where,pray, does that information come from?