WHO report reveals Thailand is reeling under a liquor tsunami

[mrtoad]

How much does Chalerm consume though? That might skew the figures somewhat

[unanimosity]

If they want to curtail alcohol consumption they should plonk a heavy tax on soda water. Have you guys seen how much of that stuff the average native douses over their whisky!?

No, don't usually hang around Thai drinkers. But I'm sure they could learn to drink it straight fairly quickly or maybe with ice if soda water got too expensive. Or they'd find a way to manufacture soda water on the sidewalks.

TAT must have provided the numbers to WHO and included soda in the volume since they cannot fathom whisky without it. The typical ratio is about 10 parts water to 1 part whisky. Once a group of Thai executives were encouraged to drink like a man and were poured quality Scotch on the rocks. Not one could consume more than a few sips (and then got giddy at that) whilst their host enjoyed two double shots on the rocks. The most ridiculous thing is when they try to act sophisticated and pay way too much for average Scotch and then dilute it with water. Goes back to the underlying principle that, "they know the price of all things great and small....and the value of nothing at all."

[Oziex1]

The casual use of the word Tsunami in the title seems callous given the tragic loss of life in Thailand from a Tsunami.

The Tsunami was just a ripple in a pond compared to the problems of alcohol in Thailand and globally. I think it's fair to use the word Tsunami to describe a devastating event.

[kkup]

Considering most of the consumption is by drunken white men i'd say the figures are well off the mark.

[Balance]

The casual use of the word Tsunami in the title seems callous given the tragic loss of life in Thailand from a Tsunami.

Don't be such a soft-cocked P.C. git and harden the <deleted> up. Next thing you'll be complaining about the use of the word 'car' because of the number of deaths they cause on Thai roads.

Three cheers for the freedom to use language, especially similes and metaphors.

[Krataiboy]

We all need to stop relying on US/Corporate mouthpieces to tell us how to run our lives and start thinking outside the box. The author of this article is a typical example of the breed of supine journalist whose "analysis" of the WHO findings is not only superficial but grievously out of step with the latest thinking on what needs to be done if our world is simply to survive, let alone prosper.

The big giveaway is one of the opening statements, a comment by the author offered as fact - and implied admonition: "The report has serious implications for Thailand's continued economic growth and the health and well-being of its labour force to achieve that growth".

Notice the emphasis. Not on individual human well-being or even on the health of human societies. People are simply to be regarded as units of production who need to be healthy only to the extent that they can be expected to continue to apply noses and shoulders energetically to the grindstones and wheels of industry and commerce.

Even a journalist as clearly dependent on recycling press handouts as this one must surely be aware that the traditional notion of going for "continued economic growth" to support a commercially-cultivated and intrinsically mindless desire for ever more material products is not only outmoded but stupidly suicidal, as our planet's natural resources are mercilessly depleted and its flora and fauna cynically destroyed in the interests of The Economy (99 per cent of all species ever created are already extinct).

Then, of course, there is the little matter of climate change - aggravated and accelerated by the fossil fuel-generated power recklessly employed to keep the wheels of consumerism spinning ever faster - and global warmings potential to destroy the very atmosphere on which we depend to breathe.

What is urgently required, if future generations are to have a viable future, is a return to a low-growth or even no-growth global economy where we all learn to settle for less rather than more. Instead of continuing to supply mere human grist for the greedy capitalist mill, Thais and non-Thais alike should consider the liberating alternative offered by self-sufficiency as advocated by His Majesty the King and others of foresight (including, I gather, some of the leading military).

Thailand is blessed in being one of the few countries which has all the natural ingredients to grow its own food the year round. If everyone in the Kingdom were to be allocated sufficient land, Thai families, working individually or as part of co-operatives, could undoubtedly produce more than enough for their own needs and sell any surplus to buy non-essentials and luxuries.

Along with heavier crops, a largely self-sufficient Thailand would reap many not-so-obvious benefits. For a start, the Kingdom would no longer be at the mercy of a global elite which palpably is concerned neither with fulfilling human potential nor ensuring the survival of the planet, but only with how both can be exploited for maximum short-term profit. It could more easily resist the commercial badgering and political bullying by bigger nations which seek to impose unfair trading conditions and place the interests of global conglomerates above those of sovereign governments. Best of all, self sufficiency would reduce the proportion of the population stuck at the bottom of the capitalist human resource heap, the group most vulnerable to the ravages of alcohol and drug abuse. The result would be a fairer, healthier, more independent society marching resolutely towards the generals' ultimate goal of rediscovering national happiness.

History taught a valuable lesson to those of us fortunate enough to have survived World War II and the years of grinding austerity which followed. We had relatively little in terms of material possessions and creature comforts, yet we were generally happy and content in a way which the populations of many of today's privileged lands of plenty are clearly not. I suspect it is because, rightly or wrongly, we felt we were all in the same boat. This shared ethos is unlikely to return under old-fashioned and outmoded free market (sic) capitalism, which continues to obscenely widen the already yawning gap between rich and poor across the globe while dragging us all inexorably towards self-extinction.

Sociologists cite the relentless growth of inequality as one of the main causes of the modern plague of alienation, aggression and intolerance which is producing dystopian societies and fueling national and regional wars - any one of which could mastisise into the Armageddon of a thermonuclear third world war.

We truly do have a sick world - but not one for which the World Health Organisation, critisised for having a too cosy relationship with the corporate sector, is likely to be interested in providing a diagnosis, let alone cure.

[HerbalEd]

Just had a quick glance at the report and there are many countries with a average consumption of more than 10 litres per year.

This is just sensationalism.

I agree some some people drink a lot but when compared to European countries it's nothing.

So the WHO is wrong and you are right?

[JesseFrank]

Just had a quick glance at the report and there are many countries with a average consumption of more than 10 litres per year.

This is just sensationalism.

I agree some some people drink a lot but when compared to European countries it's nothing.

So the WHO is wrong and you are right?

And so what ?

10 liter per year is 2.7 cl per day, which is even not a single shot. Then I'm sure an alcoholic drinks about 300 liters or more a year, thereby rendering 30 others teetotaler.

[techboy]

David Swartzentruber is a joke. Let us establish from the beginning that he is here to convince us of something and he will use at best partial truths in his article. My point is made immediately:

Regarding alcohol consumed Dave informs us "The latest global average is 6.21 litres of alcohol per capita, but the figure for Southeast Asia is 3.4 litres per capita - less than half of Thailand's consumption rate."

This is Dave's platform- his foundation- and it is a deliberate deception. The fact that SE Asia is roughly 40% Muslim just might help your numbers a bit, hey Dave? (Dave, you have just demonstrated deliberate obfuscation. That means that means lying).

Furthermore Dave informs us:

"This is even more startling when you consider that 70.3 per cent of Thais are recorded as abstainers. The remaining 30 per cent more than make up for those who don't drink." At least Dave was bright enough to give himself a back door by inserting "recorded as" because anyone who lives in Thailand and has frigging eyes knows that statistic is beyond absurd. It is insulting that he would even present it, knowing that people who live here will read it.

Then our "sociological sleuth" does his own "Cause and effect" analysis. His point is roughly that hard booze like lao khao is cheap because it is not taxed enough so lots of Thais are motivated to drink the hard stuff. Sorry Dave but cheap rot gut hard stuff is available around and around the world. And "...the world's second largest spirits brand." Dave is leaving out information again (lying). Sorry but Thailand alone is not a large enough market to make any one alcoholoc brand the world's second largest spirit brand- Certainly not in terms of amount purchased and consumed by Thais as Dave's context insinuates. (Jeez and only 30% 'em drink!)

Dave's references: "David Swartzentruber worked as a clinical psychologist in the United States, dealing with the medical and social issues involved with alcoholism." I do not know Dave's background- My feeling is just a cushy rich boy college education. But have met a variety of people who have touted themselves as being in his field. My experience with "Clinical Psychologists" has been that they were recovering alcoholics that got into rehab education programs and got jobs in which they worked at rehabilitating other alcoholics. I met them out in the oilfield where they were doing miscellaneous work after they fell off the wagon again themselves. So, rich boy or recovering alkie (or both) it seems like a good racket if Dave is getting paid. I may just look into grabbing myself a Clinical Psychology degree- They are advertised prolifically as online diplomas.

I am not well versed on how the WHO gets their numbers but I do not respect them as a reliable source of information on this matter. Walk through rural areas of any impoverished country during any afternoon and you will see people idle and boozy. Many much worse than Thailand. Bottom line is that poverty and booze go hand in hand and for countries with this problem you could conduct various "studies" that would land any one of them at fourth position, first or any other level.

[techboy]

David Swartzentruber is a joke. Let us establish from the beginning that he is here to convince us of something and he will use at best partial truths in his article. My point is made immediately:

Regarding alcohol consumed Dave informs us "The latest global average is 6.21 litres of alcohol per capita, but the figure for Southeast Asia is 3.4 litres per capita - less than half of Thailand's consumption rate."

This is Dave's platform- his foundation- and it is a deliberate deception. The fact that SE Asia is roughly 40% Muslim just might help your numbers a bit, hey Dave? (Dave, you have just demonstrated deliberate obfuscation. That means that means lying).

Furthermore Dave informs us:

"This is even more startling when you consider that 70.3 per cent of Thais are recorded as abstainers. The remaining 30 per cent more than make up for those who don't drink." At least Dave was bright enough to give himself a back door by inserting "recorded as" because anyone who lives in Thailand and has frigging eyes knows that statistic is beyond absurd. It is insulting that he would even present it, knowing that people who live here will read it.

Then our "sociological sleuth" does his own "Cause and effect" analysis. His point is roughly that hard booze like lao khao is cheap because it is not taxed enough so lots of Thais are motivated to drink the hard stuff. Sorry Dave but cheap rot gut hard stuff is available around and around the world. And "...the world's second largest spirits brand." Dave is leaving out information again (lying). Sorry but Thailand alone is not a large enough market to make any one alcoholoc brand the world's second largest spirit brand- Certainly not in terms of amount purchased and consumed by Thais as Dave's context insinuates. (Jeez and only 30% 'em drink!)

Dave's references: "David Swartzentruber worked as a clinical psychologist in the United States, dealing with the medical and social issues involved with alcoholism." I do not know Dave's background- My feeling is just a cushy rich boy college education. But have met a variety of people who have touted themselves as being in his field. My experience with "Clinical Psychologists" has been that they were recovering alcoholics that got into rehab education programs and got jobs in which they worked at rehabilitating other alcoholics. I met them out in the oilfield where they were doing miscellaneous work after they fell off the wagon again themselves. So, rich boy or recovering alkie (or both) it seems like a good racket if Dave is getting paid. I may just look into grabbing myself a Clinical Psychology degree- They are advertised prolifically as online diplomas.

I am not well versed on how the WHO gets their numbers but I do not respect them as a reliable source of information on this matter. Walk through rural areas of any impoverished country during any afternoon and you will see people idle and boozy. Many much worse than Thailand. Bottom line is that poverty and booze go hand in hand and for countries with this problem you could conduct various "studies" that would land any one of them at fourth position, first or any other level.

[techboy]

David Swartzentruber is a joke. Let us establish from the beginning that he is here to convince us of something and he will use at best partial truths in his article. My point is made immediately:

Regarding alcohol consumed Dave informs us "The latest global average is 6.21 litres of alcohol per capita, but the figure for Southeast Asia is 3.4 litres per capita - less than half of Thailand's consumption rate."

This is Dave's platform- his foundation- and it is a deliberate deception. The fact that SE Asia is roughly 40% Muslim just might help your numbers a bit, hey Dave? (Dave, you have just demonstrated deliberate obfuscation. That means that means lying).

Furthermore Dave informs us:

"This is even more startling when you consider that 70.3 per cent of Thais are recorded as abstainers. The remaining 30 per cent more than make up for those who don't drink." At least Dave was bright enough to give himself a back door by inserting "recorded as" because anyone who lives in Thailand and has frigging eyes knows that statistic is beyond absurd. It is insulting that he would even present it, knowing that people who live here will read it.

Then our "sociological sleuth" does his own "Cause and effect" analysis. His point is roughly that hard booze like lao khao is cheap because it is not taxed enough so lots of Thais are motivated to drink the hard stuff. Sorry Dave but cheap rot gut hard stuff is available around and around the world. And "...the world's second largest spirits brand." Dave is leaving out information again (lying). Sorry but Thailand alone is not a large enough market to make any one alcoholoc brand the world's second largest spirit brand- Certainly not in terms of amount purchased and consumed by Thais as Dave's context insinuates. (Jeez and only 30% 'em drink!)

Dave's references: "David Swartzentruber worked as a clinical psychologist in the United States, dealing with the medical and social issues involved with alcoholism." I do not know Dave's background- My feeling is just a cushy rich boy college education. But have met a variety of people who have touted themselves as being in his field. My experience with "Clinical Psychologists" has been that they were recovering alcoholics that got into rehab education programs and got jobs in which they worked at rehabilitating other alcoholics. I met them out in the oilfield where they were doing miscellaneous work after they fell off the wagon again themselves. So, rich boy or recovering alkie (or both) it seems like a good racket if Dave is getting paid. I may just look into grabbing myself a Clinical Psychology degree- They are advertised prolifically as online diplomas.

I am not well versed on how the WHO gets their numbers but I do not respect them as a reliable source of information on this matter. Walk through rural areas of any impoverished country during any afternoon and you will see people idle and boozy. Many much worse than Thailand. Bottom line is that poverty and booze go hand in hand and for countries with this problem you could conduct various "studies" that would land any one of them at fourth position, first or any other level.

[Doc Blake]

How did the W.H.O. substact the amount of booze us Expats are sucking up? We could easily shove the numbers around while the World Cup is on!

[Travelman868]

Next to it was the even cheaper Song Sam -Bt271 and 40 per cent proof.

Lovely writing! What is this?

I agree that the taxes on alcohol don't make any sense to me. They do drive people, especially lower-income groups, to drink "the hard stuff" because there's a financial incentive to do so. Go sit on any beach chair and watch the Thai men. Do the same at any bar frequented by Thais. It's always a bottle of whiskey, ice, and mixers. While most Thai men I know do like to drink beer, they tend to drink more whiskey than beer. The argument that people should be encouraged to drink less spririts and more beer seems like a valid first step for me. These number are astounding if 70% of the population actually does abstain.

It's no wonder that Thai's drink whiskey. 1 bottle of whiskey 6 soda's and ice total = about 300 baht or 7 large bottles of beer 300 baht. No contest