Thailand is the top alcohol-consuming country in ASEAN

[allan michaud]

Love the opening line of the story, so they could only find 40% of Issan's drinkers?

[ginjag]

"The report also revealed that, in a year, each regular drinker consumes 7.1 litres of pure alcohol, which is equal to 226 bottles of beer or 25 bottles of spirit."

It could be me, but 226 bottles of beer, while a large number, doesn't seem that bad, less than a beer a day. However 25 bottles of spirits, that seems like a lot.

What sort of spirits/bottle sizes are we talking about here?

It is you. The report is not saying that each drinker necessarily drinks either 226 beers or 25 bottles of spirits, it is simply providing an illustration of what would contain 7.1l of alcohol.

Again, what type of spirits? What size bottles of beer/spirits?

A bottle of spirits every two weeks seems a lot more alcohol than 8 and a 1/2 bottles of beer over the same period.

How many different ways/reasons people drink.

For thirst

For habit

have problems, drink them away

For socializing

Having to keep up with mates

because it's price is low

I don't know what is the norm for expats, Having a good night out, a quiet drink at home, special occasions drink I maybe fall into this type.

But we are not all the same, look at all the other reasons for drinking. Having a drink at a bar in an evening good to relax, but how about the others, get up in a morning on the bottle-afternoon sleep it off, out at night pissed until 3-4 am.crawl home. this is not a brill style for us westerners, looks bad.

Thai do have a alcohol problem period. this local Lao white whisky is a killer and one of the biggest causes of road accidents, and domestic abuse. especially in rural areas. It's price is the PROBLEM, about 90 Baht for 70m large bottle and sky high alcohol content--smells so bad also, but at that price it is easily affordable and you are drunk in no time.

Why doe's the government allow this drink ??? massive sales and high profit, and you have to look who owns these establishments. They sell -not care.

This one drink should be at least 6 times more expensive, OR ban it better.

[DoctorG]

I noticed that the bottom graphic is wrong. If one "man" is supposed to represent 1 million people, how come Bangkok has 2.3 "men" even though the figure is given as 1.3 million, the South also has 2.3 "men" and Issan has 7.7 "men" but the figure says 6.7 million. Three errors just in one graphic... Was the person who created it drunk at the time?

The pie-chart legend is also wrong

[tominbkk]

Thailand finally made it into a hub ranking!

Thailand, the Alcoholic Hub of Asia!

[Local Drunk]

Now i know why the Brits like it so much here not to mention the Russians. Wonder who of those drink more.

Honestly... per individual based on personal observation... I'd say the Norwegians and other Scandinavian countries, but having said that, I don't know any Russians. However; I know a lot of Brits, Aussies, Canadians and Americans here and they all seem to be on a more or less on an equal plane.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Local Drunk

[robblok]

Now i know why the Brits like it so much here not to mention the Russians. Wonder who of those drink more.

Honestly... per individual based on personal observation... I'd say the Norwegians and other Scandinavian countries, but having said that, I don't know any Russians. However; I know a lot of Brits, Aussies, Canadians and Americans here and they all seem to be on a more or less on an equal plane.

I was joking about the Brits, but the ones i met really love to drink.

The Scandinavian ones on a holiday has an explanation.... alcohol is so expensive there that when they go somewhere where its cheap they overdo it.

[recycler]

7l pure alcohol is high, in par with europe

Compare this with 11.67l in the UK, 11.81l in Germany, 13.39l in Ireland, and 14.97l in Czech Republic!

You're forgetting that the countries you mention all produce decent brews.

You're also forgetting that a very large proportion of Asians lack an enzyme called aldehyde hydrogenase, which prevents them from consuming beyond a certain level due to the unpleasant physical effects this enzyme deficiency causes. In layman speak, they get drunk much, much faster and with worse ill effects than Caucasians, who generally do NOT lack that enzyme and thus can consume comparatively more before they feel drunk.

Here is an academic paper on that, in case you don't believe me: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC303676/

Given that fact, 7.1 l of PURE alcohol is an enormous consumption.

You are right and this means that alcohol is a very big problem in Thailand, not just in loss of productivity, but also by causing a lot of violence and family problems.

[Halion]

Finally.... #1!!!!!!

As I posted the other day...

#2 in ASEAN for teen pregnancy

#3 in the world for road deaths

All they were missing was a number one. And now... Taa-daa! Well done.

Things are finally looking up for the country.

Also number two in Asia for firearms following Pakistan.

[Colabamumbai]

Living in Isaan I have to agree there are a lot of people here who do nothing but drink all day. I do not know how they afford to. On the same note, I can buy a bottle of blended 8 year old whiskey in shops in Laos for 10,000 Kip, = 40 Baht, Meanwhile a bottle of Leo is 55 Baht or more.

[DrTuner]

Bring on the prohibition. Would do wonders to the craft beer industry. I know where to get the mushrooms locals use as yeast, nooooo problem.

[Evolare]

I don't find it that surprising when you factor in Thais have a higher level of disposable income than many other SEA nations, and also the likes of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are Islamic.

You could be right but actually majority of the big drinkers in thailand are low income people. Is it only me that sees the connection of high number of drinkers 40% of thai population low education and the amount of people voting for PTP.

[tetleythedog]

I don't find it that surprising when you factor in Thais have a higher level of disposable income than many other SEA nations, and also the likes of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are Islamic.

Ok ..........that being the case, shouldn't thay have 0% drinkers???

[bushwacker]

I think they are confused where Bkk ends and Central starts.

[Larry001]

Another award to be proud of 'LOS'

[slipperylobster]

Does this make me a Hub-aholic?

[xavierr]

I don't find it that surprising when you factor in Thais have a higher level of disposable income than many other SEA nations, and also the likes of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are Islamic.

Islamic countries also have problems of high alcohol consumption. Only that there it is hidden. Years ago in Saudi Arabia they banned the Charlie perfume because people were drinking it.

[slipperylobster]

What is the prize for being number 1?

Isaan Rocks, obviously having more fun than you think.

[sonar6ca]

Please do not pick on those Easan people, they are depressed because they did not get paid for the rice.

[tingtongteesood]

Finally.... #1!!!!!!

As I posted the other day...

#2 in ASEAN for teen pregnancy

#3 in the world for road deaths

All they were missing was a number one. And now... Taa-daa! Well done.

Things are finally looking up for the country.

Call me crazy but I think there is a small chance that number 1 is rather a large contributor towards number 2 and number 3....

[madmitch]

77% of regular drinkers are adults. That means 23% of regular drinkers are kids. Now there is a figure for Thailand to be proud of.

That must also prove that not selling alcohol between 2 and 5pm is not having the desired effect so it must be time to get rid of this stupid law!

[kamahele]

Might have something to do with the number of retired farang pensioners in Isaan!

[Reggae rancher]

I will drink to that!!

[little mary sunshine]

40% in Issan, the other 60% MUST be here in Pattaya....a miserable lot !!!

[ginjag]

Living in Isaan I have to agree there are a lot of people here who do nothing but drink all day. I do not know how they afford to. On the same note, I can buy a bottle of blended 8 year old whiskey in shops in Laos for 10,000 Kip, = 40 Baht, Meanwhile a bottle of Leo is 55 Baht or more.

Agree seen it for years -- Leo 55 baht 1 or 2 persons drinking--------------Lao whisky 90 bht-or 25 baht from Lao duty free. a whole family and friends can buy and it last all evening with chipping in together. High alcohol content -health problem- on the road problem and anger problem.

Look into the persons eyes a heavy lao whisky drinker has a burnt skin look--that sick wino expression and his eyes will have a yellow colour.

I see young males with these symptoms now---never before.

Such a heavy drain on the health service.

[DocN]

What a predictable outcome!

No...not the statistics!

The post of the esteemed members of this forum!

[Costas2008]

"40% of drinkers found in Isaan"

I must be careful from now on......Somebody is watching me

[sirchai]

Thais don't seem to have a problem with alcohol. Only without.. Explains the way people drive here almost perfectly.

Please watch out for these guys...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=910JU4ipMC0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yk5pUfpld0

Cheers- Chock Dee-Prost. -

Edited January 7, 2014 by sirchai

[Ulic]

With the Singha beer heiress playing such a prominent role in the anti government protest I'm surprised

there has not been an organized boycott of Singha in the northern part of Thailand. There are plenty of options.

[DrTuner]

Look into the persons eyes a heavy lao whisky drinker has a burnt skin look--that sick wino expression and his eyes will have a yellow colour.

I see young males with these symptoms now---never before.

Such a heavy drain on the health service.

The yellow eyes would be a liver gone bust. But I do wonder what health services the winos use .. traditionally they tend to avoid doctors like the plague, cuts down the drinking time and they don't care for moral sermons. In pure money terms it's quite likely croaking in your thirties you'll be cheaper for the society.

[dominique355]

partly because of high tourist volume and being cheapish (comparable with west).

but 7l pure alcohol is high, in par with europe/america

Nonsense, Tourist are less than 0.5 present of the Thai population at any given time. the real reason is that alcohol is obtained almost anywhere, in shops, soi's food vendors, and many other places that would not be permissible in most countries. because there is no law against public drinking the youngsters follow their elders footsteps, because it looks 'Macho'. Believe it or not more crimes, family violence, and children abuse is committed through alcohol then smoking, yet the countries anti-smoking laws are one of the stringiest in Asia. and alcohol abuse one of the most ignored.

I would believe that the main reasons for high alcohol consumption in Thailand are:

- Tax and excise structure: Drinks are not taxed based on alcohol content (or only at a minimal rate), but mainly on price. The result is that a 1 liter bottle

of 41% whiskey is cheaper than 0.75 liter bottle of wine at 13% and I mean a cheap wine. It's easy to get drunk and high spirit alcohol is very cheap.

- The statistics probably only cover legal alcohol. But according to experts, illegal alcohol or "lao kaow" is consumed at about 5 times the volume of

legal. That means only 20% of alcohol consumed in Thailand is legal and taxed. So problem is even worse.

- Family or parent's guidance: I see it again and again, parent allowing their 14 and 15 year olds to drink alcohol and in uncontrolled quantities.

- There is nothing else to do for the youngsters in the provinces, so they get together and drink and drink and drink... then drive home and cause

accidents. Hence Thailand No. 3 in road kills.

The government is not really fighting alcoholism. In the contrary it profits from high taxes and sets goals to reach high tax income.

As an ad said: "Drink! Don't drive!"