New Alcohol Control Bill To Be Put For Public Hearing

[george]

New alcohol control bill to be put for public hearing next month

BANGKOK: -- A new bill to entirely ban alcohol advertising and all forms of sales-promotion activities, including pretty girls, will go to a nationwide public hearing next month.

There is now a final draft of the Alcohol Consumption Control Bill, which will cover all aspects of the national control of alcohol consumption, said Dr Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department.

The Bill took the Public Health Ministry a year to draft, he said.

Narong said the next step was to conduct a series of public hearings next month in eight provinces, representing all regions of the country.

--The Nation 2006-05-29

[bulmercke]

How pathetic.

Adults, in the main, consume alcohol.

So why shouldn't drinks companies be able to appeal to this market through pretty girls and other forms of promotional activities?

We're all adults and just like smoking we know very well what the potential effects of smoking on your health are - but I don't need it rammed down my throat with graphic images everytime I pick up a packet.

This is another example of the increasingly evident "nanny state" that Thailand is becoming under Thaksin - telling us what is good and what is bad for us.

We're adults and we can make our own minds up.

We have a right to make an informed choice of what particular brand we want through perusing advertising, but obviously the 'powers that be' don't like this.

Eating meat can be bad for us. Likewise drinking milk can also be bad.

Will they prohibit advertising of these products in the future?

[thatguy]

amen

[gharknes]

just stupid, they don't want tourists that drink

what a lot of children run this country

[khall64au]

New alcohol control bill to be put for public hearing next month

BANGKOK: -- A new bill to entirely ban alcohol advertising and all forms of sales-promotion activities, including pretty girls, will go to a nationwide public hearing next month.

There is now a final draft of the Alcohol Consumption Control Bill, which will cover all aspects of the national control of alcohol consumption, said Dr Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department.

The Bill took the Public Health Ministry a year to draft, he said.

Narong said the next step was to conduct a series of public hearings next month in eight provinces, representing all regions of the country.

--The Nation 2006-05-29

[Gumballl]

I for one would hope that the Thai gov't would tackle smoking and prohibit it from occuring in ALL workplaces.

As far as drinking is concerned, I think it will continue. Unfortunate though that a lot of drinkers (including tourists) get drunk without thinking of the repercussions of their actions, and put everyone at risk when they drive a car or motorbike. This issue occurs worldwide, not just in LOS.

[lampard10]

What a bugger.............................................so now I must give up my part-time job!

[sriracha john]

The above example of the pretty beer-promoting personnel seem destined to go by the wayside, same as my avatar....

Also in the plans for this new alcohol bill will be establishing zones that will be allowed to sell alcohol and deciding the days when a total ban on alcohol sales will be (anyone care to wager there will be more in the future than at the present time?) :

Total ban on alcohol promotion on the way

A new bill to ban alcohol advertising completely and all forms of sales-promotion activities, including attractive uniformed waitresses, will go to a nationwide public hearing next month.

A final draft has been drawn up of the Alcohol Consumption Control Bill, which will cover all aspects of the national control of alcohol consumption, said Dr Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department. (btw, is this really the appropriate department to be deciding the rules??)

Continued here:

http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/05/30/nat...al_30005240.php

Edited May 30, 2006 by sriracha john

[BangnaBound]

So where can I pick up a surplus Tiger outfit?

[monochaser]

Beer co's shouldn't be able to advertise but not for the children's sake but rather due to Thai beer products being flat out lousy

[Scott]

I have no problem with doing away with these promotions. First, the promotions occur frequently in family type restaurants that serve alcohol. Sorry but it's disconcerting and embarassing when some young thing has her private parts stuck in a man's face and his wife is sitting across the table. (This isn't a go at the girls--who often don't seem all that comfortable with either the skimpy costume or the product--it's just their job).

Some of this has to do with where I live, which is very much a residential/family area. The same promotions held in the business district and tourist areas always seem less offensive or intrusive.

As for the restrictions of drinking days--it would be nice to know in advance. Before the election, I was at a local restaurant and was told (at 5:30 p.m.) that after 6:00 no alcohol was allowed. At 5:50 I ordered 2 beers and proceeded to have an enjoyable evening. Interestingly, all the local people who came in, had no idea they couldn't have alcohol. They don't do a good job of informing people of the dates and times etc.

[ProfessorFart]

How are they going to regulate the 'pretty girl' law?

State that bars can only employ unattraactive staff?

[phibunmike]

This does sound ridiculous, and does not tackle the "problem". Most drinking "problems" in Thailand, IMHO, are from excessive drinking of Lao Khao and Sangsom in the villages - and a group of guys sitting in a circle on the floor in a small village are not responding to avertising. The advertising encourages beer (surely better than Lao Khao to avoid problems) and upmarket brands which I do not think are at the root of the social problems.

[Neeranam]

BANGKOK: -- A new bill to entirely ban alcohol advertising and all forms of sales-promotion activities, including pretty girls, will go to a nationwide public hearing next month.

About time too!

Thailand is slowly realising how bad the alcohol problem is and doing something to prevent it.

Selling booze at petrol stations was terrible.

Promoting a drug that causes destruction and despair to thousands and their families of course should be banned.

Yes alcohol is a drug, worse than heroin.

[Jai Dee]

So where can I pick up a surplus Tiger outfit?

I've got to agree that the Tiger promotional uniform is much more attractive than the Heinekin or Singha uniforms...

Even though the cut is probably the same as the others... the colours and shapes have a way of wrapping around curves very nicely...

[jayenram]

As far as drinking is concerned, I think it will continue.

I think you may be right there.

[jayenram]

Yes alcohol is a drug, worse than heroin.

Is this statement based upon scientific fact or just a wild guess?

[jayenram]

Sorry but it's disconcerting and embarassing when some young thing has her private parts stuck in a man's face and his wife is sitting across the table.

Could you possibly provide a list of the bars that you frequent?

[chuchok]

Sorry but it's disconcerting and embarassing when some young thing has her private parts stuck in a man's face and his wife is sitting across the table.

Could you possibly provide a list of the bars that you frequent?

yes, I would like to se that list too, so these bars can be avoided.Shocking!

[Totster]

A new bill to entirely ban alcohol advertising and all forms of sales-promotion activities, including pretty girls, will go to a nationwide public hearing next month.

Now thats just taking things to far... A total overreaction !

totster

[sua yai]

Trying to be serious here,

Just how bad is the alcohol problem in Thailand? I've been here for 8 years and in my opinion it's not too much to worry about. There are exceptions, but there are everywhere.

Alcohol is a drug and it makes you behave differently. That is inherently the situation that this country is faced with.

Thay don't like critism, they don't like "anti-social behaviour", basically they don't like anything that goes against the norm.

Now they've got a problem. Again, back to my first question, just how bad is it?

[Totster]

Trying to be serious here,

Just how bad is the alcohol problem in Thailand? I've been here for 8 years and in my opinion it's not too much to worry about. There are exceptions, but there are everywhere.

Alcohol is a drug and it makes you behave differently. That is inherently the situation that this country is faced with.

Thay don't like critism, they don't like "anti-social behaviour", basically they don't like anything that goes against the norm.

Now they've got a problem. Again, back to my first question, just how bad is it?

I don't think the problem is that bad, and certainly not as bad as the problems seen in the UK every weekend.. problems that were created by restrictions on drinking times...

totster

[Plus]

It's often said that Thailand is 5th in the world in alcohol consumption per person. However it appears that it's mostly locally produced lao kao that makes up numbers.

Restricting selling hours in shopping malls doesn't affect the bulk of drinkers, only middle class. As a result the the gap between poor and better off increases.

I wish they developed a policy to reduce drinking among men living off their wives, sisters and daughters.

[The Coder]

Studies show per capita drinking in Thailand since the 1960's has climbed up to an incredible 100:1. It's soared so high it questions if they were able to really measure it very well back then or not. It's either that or Thai's used to just drink on a special occassion, but now continually. It is proven to me from all the studies that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for the heart. But at the same time alcohol can be addictive and too much of anything is bad for you and becomes destructive in those cases. Thus, using it for anything is risky.

The thing about this law though is it does not seem aimed at curbing drinking. Instead, it sounds like it was drafted by people who don't like to see voluptuous girls in skimpy attire. If you were to list 100 things that might really make a difference, this would surely be near the very bottom. I would suspect for the most part beer girls do not tend to make people drink more, but rather sway people to one brand versus the next. If they really were genuine about alcohol control, they would do simple study on a place with and without beer girls to see if it made any difference. Who knows, drinking might actually go up due to the depressed people.

[hammered]

I guess the zoning thing and the banning sales on cetain days will only apply to Bangkok and some towns. Alcohol has always been available for sale in villages I have been in whether on election days, buddhist holidays or whatever, and has been enjoyed by the villagers on these days. I doubt whether it would be too populist a policy to change this now.

[sua yai]

Studies show per capita drinking in Thailand since the 1960's has climbed up to an incredible 100:1. It's soared so high it questions if they were able to really measure it very well back then or not. It's either that or Thai's used to just drink on a special occassion, but now continually. It is proven to me from all the studies that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for the heart. But at the same time alcohol can be addictive and too much of anything is bad for you and becomes destructive in those cases. Thus, using it for anything is risky.

The thing about this law though is it does not seem aimed at curbing drinking. Instead, it sounds like it was drafted by people who don't like to see voluptuous girls in skimpy attire. If you were to list 100 things that might really make a difference, this would surely be near the very bottom. I would suspect for the most part beer girls do not tend to make people drink more, but rather sway people to one brand versus the next. If they really were genuine about alcohol control, they would do simple study on a place with and without beer girls to see if it made any difference. Who knows, drinking might actually go up due to the depressed people.

That is about the most sensible rationale I've heard in ages.

[jayenram]

That is about the most sensible rationale I've heard in ages.

Seconded

[Jai Dee]

[Galong]

How are they going to regulate the 'pretty girl' law? State that bars can only employ unattraactive staff?

Good one Professor!

they'll have to change the labor laws to allow farang women to work the bars. That would certainly keep me out.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(Neeranam @ 2006-05-30 10:02:00) *

Yes alcohol is a drug, worse than heroin.

Is this statement based upon scientific fact or just a wild guess?

It is based on personal experience and work in the area of recovery from these drugs.

Heroin causes problems due to it not being legal, that's all that's worse than booze.