Tough new crackdown on alcohol promotions in Thailand

[dangerousdan99]

Honestly... What the <deleted>! As a bar owner, if they actually enforce these laws, I will have to throw out all of my current stock. No warnings and ingredient labels on old stock, so they won't be allowed. Nevermind bar owners, think about warehouses also. Ridiculous!

After a <deleted> terrible current year for the tourism industry due to political problems, they are going to turn away many tourists for next year. Do you want to come to a Thailand where ALL drinking must stop at midnight? Not just sales, ALL drinking in bars. I'm fuming with this decision.

I am a huge supporter of the coup and all the good that it has done/is doing for Thailand. When they say they want to encourage tourism, and then they come up with stupid ass decisions to discourage tourism it makes me really angry. It's like they don't understand what brings people to Thailand.

It feels like the leadership of the country doesn't communicate with all of the other parts of the government. For instance, tour guides reported Russian tour agents to the government and this was dismissed because it was decided that these Russian tour guides provide a good service for tourists. The next day they are talking about inspecting all tour agencies to make sure they are in compliance with all laws. It just makes me shake my head. The same goes for immigration crackdowns and then loosening because it was a bad decision. Please can we just understand that this crackdown is a bad decision before they implement it? Please. Please Please.

[Whistler]

"You buy me drink?"

This policy seems to outlaw one of the most common English phrases first taught by every Mamasan in the country.

Can we now be accused of promoting alcohol consumption by merely offering to buy a lass a drink?

Is the phrase "one more?" now a criminal offense?

Good golly what a nutty time in Thailand.

[starkey_rich]

Is this a joke?

If you mean Thailand .Then Yes

[ianf]

Honestly who gives a shit, as long as i can buy my 5 large LEO a day i dont care.

So i dident even bother reading the post. "Im 4 down one more and "good night"

Poor man. If that's all you've got to look forward to, I pity you.

[recycler]

Land of smiles :-(

[KhunSteven]

A dry Thailand only affect falang. Thai people are Buddhist and drinking is against believes anyway. This is a Buddhist country.

[timmyp]

This totally conflicts with the Happiness Campaign.

[Maroon Watcher]

I got as far as: No alcohol logos are allowed on glasses, ashtrays and other paraphernalia

And thought - North Korea - Overt communism??

Then I thought - someones been drinking too much!

And I could add:

No drinking in Bars, especially tourist areas, No drinking in Hotels...

Time for an Election!

[brewsterbudgen]

Why would this be announced in Chiang Mai and nowhere else?

A bit like the carrying your passport law (no copies) announced in Hua Hin and then quickly retracted!

Edited August 26, 2014 by brewsterbudgen

[Zumteufel]

Increase the tax on alcohol instead of making life hard for responsible enjoyers of it. Just the rule about not being able to buy alcohol certain times of the day: Utter nonsense. And now I'm at it: What's up with the blurring of weapons, cigarettes and alcohol in movies? Don't they realise it EMPHASIZES these things?

Man, oh man. Backwards, conservative thinking.

[bapoboy]

The next crackdown will be on moonshine, criminal pepole will make money and the goverment will loose.

So that's Alcohol, Drugs , Visa's , overstayers and street vendors so far. Whats next ? a crackdown on the Obese and hard of hearing ?

[gregk0543]

I am told these laws have been around for a couple of years.

Thai Bev advertise Chang Water and Chang Soda. as a way around it.

Chang water sponsors Everton and other clubs. The logo is the same but there is no mention of beer.

This is allowed. You guys just havent noticed the method and think they are advertising beer. Look close at all the Golf and Sports stuff. Subtle.

Check out Everton.

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2014/03/20/blues-strike-record-chang-deal

Edited August 26, 2014 by gregk0543

[baboon]

I am a huge supporter of the coup and all the good that it has done/is doing for Thailand. When they say they want to encourage tourism, and then they come up with stupid ass decisions to discourage tourism it makes me really angry. It's like they don't understand what brings people to Thailand.

It feels like the leadership of the country doesn't communicate with all of the other parts of the government. For instance, tour guides reported Russian tour agents to the government and this was dismissed because it was decided that these Russian tour guides provide a good service for tourists. The next day they are talking about inspecting all tour agencies to make sure they are in compliance with all laws. It just makes me shake my head. The same goes for immigration crackdowns and then loosening because it was a bad decision. Please can we just understand that this crackdown is a bad decision before they implement it? Please. Please Please.

With the greatest of respect, you supported authoritarian rule, now you have it. A bit late to start complaining now.

[alanrchase]

I will have to go to Ma Pa store to get the gen. Bothers me not.

[BuriRamHome]

A sure fire way to drive tourists to Cambodia or Laos.

[Kasset Tak]

what about Thai beer sponsoring UK football, Chang is Everton anywhere else?

No problem, Everton is not a Thai football team. And here in Thailand they use Chang drinking water as sponsor for the Thai teams....

[VINCENT2012]

While the government makes 70 billion baht income per year from alcohol tax, the cost to the government is upwards of 150 billion baht."

thats all i wanted to know....as usual the prohibition comes when the tax revenue is under the cost of the effect of the product sold ......exactly like for tobaco.

so now that we can not smoke and we can not drink anymore ,when is going to be prohibited all the garbages food sold all over thailand and the world to everybody mostly to the poor,,,,,because if alcool kill , mac donald and similar, palm oil , all cheap drinks made with sugar and aditives only .......etc etc ....are making the population so obese that allready the health department in thailand told many times the authority that all these consumers will have serious health problem terminating in an hospital one day or another.

my question and my critic is :

why instead all these prohibition today, the people in charge did not make strong warning trough education before?

why they didnt and obligate today the manufactures to give us natural, ecological and healthy things to eat ?

because here or overthere , it doesnt matter where they dont really care of the people....they only care of the money they can make.

[bapoboy]

they should have a crackdown on crackdown.

So that's Alcohol, Drugs , Visa's , overstayers and street vendors so far. Whats next ? a crackdown on the Obese and hard of hearing ?

[Neeranam]

A sure fire way to drive tourists to Cambodia or Laos.

Not the kind of tourists that are wanted. Why would anyone want to go to Cambodia if it weren't for the cheap sex?

[RaysFan]

I'm going to go off on a little rant here... sorry....

Thailand is such a joke you know? I mean, seriously... such a joke. They come up with these new laws all the time... and its not just like a law like some basic new alcohol law like "labels must show nutritional information"... They go 100% balls out... They ban every aspect of alcohol to the point where the only thing left to ban is alcohol itself... its going 0-100 in 1 second flat.

And they dont just do this with alcohol, they do it with everything in this country. Could you imagine legitimate countries like America, England, Australia and other first world countries coming up with new, ridiculous laws every other week... like going 100% balls out, out of no where on these laws.... then a few weeks later just pretending like it never happened...

What a joke...

Its clearly all about money. Of all the things Thailand needs to go 100% balls out on, like corruption, medical care, education, poverty, crime, hell... the government itself for christ sake... It is going to focus on something like this. Its obviously all about money.

My theory is some police chiefs got together with a brain storming exercise to find a way to make some extra cash since they "lost" so much during the military coup..... What better way than this? Ride around all the bars every night, walk in, collect a few thousand baht and pull up to the next bar and do the same thing. The cops will make hundreds of millions off of this.

[GaryAdriaenssens]

Even Adolf Hitler wouldn't have made such useless and hypocritical rules. Probably put together by adult milk drinkers with their wet diapers still on!! But then again, beer has become almost too expensive to buy now. Better off in Cambodia or Laos but then many of us have that other problem again.... wait I'm thinking.... oh yes, your visa, almost forget there are also new rules now!!!! Thailand, the land of change!!

[Chicken George]

Same same different year. Have not seen this reported anywhere else. Thete will still be people serving beer. Bars in most places close at 12pm. These have been the laws as I see it for a long time. The logos wete vovered up before. The selling of alcohol between 2pm and 5 pm is banned. But we all know you can buy it. This is not a crackdown. Maybe just a little bit of do as you are told in Chiang Mai

[ttthailand]

Maybe Chiang Mai is the test bed and after a few weeks or months they will switch back to normal business. If it goes well ... look out Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket and the rest of Thailand.

Alcohol drinking is out of control in this country and causes many problems. There however has to be a better way to control without damaging the tourist industry.

Gogo bars and other adult entertainment is not far behind I am afraid.

[Sena Dave]

P-Man will be on the Box on Friday , he'll put it right

[slipperylobster]

I won't drink if there are no sexy gals serving mr beer.

[alanrchase]

If they don't crack down on Lao Khao, they're whistling in the wind.....

You have something against Lao Khao?

[joshuatdixon]

I really don't think this will last or come intro much of an effect. I remember going to the airport after this last coup has implemented a curfew. I asked the taxi driver(who was not supposed it be working but was) if he knew of any bars open during curfew. We found one and drank and are and then went to a disco that was open too.

Let's just take this with a grain of salt...

[razer]

Woa! Is Thailand becoming an Islamic state?

[muratremix]

What kind of ?@!* forbids beer girls!

[citizen33]

I'm going to hang fire before assuming that this is the end of the story. The reported policy would be in accord with moral sentiment in high places, but almost certainly not with the advice coming from government economists. However, there do seem to be changes afoot and my sense is that the interests of westerners are not high on current political agendas. Compulsory health insurance for foreigners is my guess for another future policy. I will miss 'sao BG' if the rumour is true. The thing to realise is that Thailand is quintessentially a country of network politics, factions, alliances and patronage. Even with the junta in charge there is more than one faction and more than one view on policy.