2 Bars Closed Down Under Junta's Sweeping Booze Ban

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Remember when the Beer Girls and beer advertising were banned? So you didn't see this law coming?

[dcpo]

In as far as the general has a mandate, surely this kind of policy making goes beyond it. Supposedly the ncpo are in power to facilitate a transition to competent civilian government, not to force through their own legislation unrelated to this goal.

[MESmith]

With this law you can more or less close all bars nationwide in all cities , because you can always find some kind of educational institution within this radius.

From now on all drinking wll have to take place in rice fields , fruit orchards and forests.

Excellent! That's where I spend most of my leisure time

But it's cr@p for everyone else

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Phase two is coming. Move the noncompliance bars, bargirls and freelance swing cats to a designated entertainment zone.

[RickBradford]

With this law you can more or less close all bars nationwide in all cities , because you can always find some kind of educational institution within this radius.

From now on all drinking wll have to take place in rice fields , fruit orchards and forests.

Most rural villages have a school (and a temple, often collocated).

The local Mom and Pop shops will almost certainly be within a 300-meter radius of the school.

Result: zero practical effect on drinking, simply more opportunities for the BiB to sidle up to shop owners with an extended palm and a greasy smile.

[taiping]

This is great news! Now perhaps the drunken louts will return to taking their holidays in Spain, and the alcoholic old perverts will have to eek out their pensions in Wetherspoons!

As an alcoholic old pervert, what is "Wetherspoons." Should I be going there?

[DanceAllNight]

I wish Thai people stood up to their Government and to corruption. The police corruption here is among the worst I've seen.... Mexico and Vietnam level.

[khunpa]

RelaK people! How many times before have we not seen stupid rules being enforced for a couple of days/weeks and then it all going back to normal?

Let the law-makers sober up and the police figure out their losses from this. Then when they all start thinking a bit, it will all be forgotten.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Remember when the Beer Girls and beer advertising were banned? So you didn't see this law coming?

Yes, and overall, what effect have those prior supposed rules had?

At least in Bangkok, AFAICS, none.

[MZurf]

This is great news! Now perhaps the drunken louts will return to taking their holidays in Spain, and the alcoholic old perverts will have to eek out their pensions in Wetherspoons!

Who are these drunken students you are rambling about and why should Thai students go to Spain and Wetherspoons (wherever that is)??? Are there large Thai colonies there?

[taiping]

Article 44 was enacted so the general could make sweeping changes to usher in the "New Thailand" It has nothing to do with students drinking and racing. It's just a good opportunity to make changes that will produce the end result he wants. He is determined to change the face and reputation of Thailand. With article 44 he has absolute authoritarian power. His mentor, the founding Prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Lew. Lee used his authoritarian rule to helped Singapore to transition from a developing country to one of the most developed in the world, transforming it into a thriving international business hub. This is what Prayut is doing. He wants Thailand to be the "hub" of Asean. To do that he must make swift changes. Alcohol consumption, road accidents and human trafficking, just to name a few, must be addressed. Wrong or right history will be the judge.

I don't need history to judge -- the man is intellectually challenged.

[metisdead]

As posted previously:

Please use discretion in your references to the government. Phrases which can be considered as anti-coup will be removed. Referring to Thailand or the government as a dictatorship, military dictatorship or other such terms will be removed.

Posts in violation of the above have been removed.

Other off topic obfuscation posts, inflammatory posts, and insulting posts and replies have been removed as well.

[novo58]

My main concern is the total lack of distinction in this law between..................lets say nightclubs/bars/karaoke venues regularly frequented by thai students ( both overage and underage students) and other establishments that have NEVER SEEN( or served alcohol to) A THAI STUDENT since Moses was a boy.

There are , of course , already laws in place to deal with illegal underage drinking ( which like most laws in Thailand are simply not enforced).

This draconian law will have a massive ( negative) impact on the economy, employment and tourism.

As many have said ..............it will be interesting to see how long this law survives and also whether it is selectively enforced or how quickly exemptions are put in place .

[RickBradford]

There are signs of a Genesis complex here: "Let there be X, and there was X."

where X=reduction of drinking among Thai students, or of street racing, or a sudden upsurge of interest in bicycling to work in Bangkok, or whatever the policy du jour happens to be.

[PeteDmoose]

Now I know I am easily confused, but what time of day does this apply ? ...... if the kids have all gone home, and haven't stopped to buy a beer at the nearest establishment within 300 meters then the grown ups can then surely have a legal drink in peace !!! The kids can then get on their Scoopy and pop out for a SangSom Coke !!!!

[jimn]

Is there anyone else like me who is getting fed up with the attention grabbing headlines like this on Thai Visa. Only to look at the topic and find out its nothing of the sort. "Sweeping Booze Ban" ? Come off it, its nothing of the sort. Who cares if they stop selling alcohol within 300 metres of Thai Universities in some suburb. It doesn't effect me and I suspect it doesn't affect 99.9% of TV readers. Lets move on

[brucec64]

I guess that by now students have worked out that they can buy alcohol 301 metres from their place of learning.

Perhaps you over estimate.

But the students had to use a calculator to get the answer to 300 + 1 = 301

[slipperylobster]

2 down...and 5 million to go.

Odds are..we will get to finish our beer before they shut our spot down.

[Shaunduhpostman]

Whether people choose to abuse alcohol, or use it fairly reasonably has many causes. Unfortunately the authoritarian reality of Thailand precludes the possibility that anyone in a position to do anything would look into causes and try and effect changes in a way that respects peoples lives. No. That doesn't suit the tough guy style, and there is not enough maturity to have any interest in looking carefully and deeply at long term causes and solutions or consulting others who are trained at looking at social problems and suggesting policies that will actually be effective. It seems that it is much more gratifying to just storm in and righteously kick everyone's sand castles to bits. You can't control whether people are going to drink or not ultimately, regardless. It is just a reality of human life that has plusses and minuses. We don't like it that people get angry. Do we go around putting a legal cap on emotions?

Mass drinking, I'm sure it has a lot to do with there not being other options or reasons to stay sober or relatively so. Obviously it has nothing to with the proximity of booze. If you are engaged with something in your life, the likelihood that you will drink too much diminishes. Unfortunately, the entrenched authoritarian bent of the whole society doesn't allow much scope for people to develop their interests and potentials. Many Thais, as far as I can see from my outsider's view is that largely live to serve some higher up or be relegated to the outside looking in.So what do you do with yourself when you are not not needed for anything? Many will think nothing of drinking because there is no point to being sober. Authorities such as parents, bosses, teachers, etc. become jealous of kids and anyone who appears to show them up with developed talents and skills. People need to be respected for who they are and not only that, they need to be valued. People's lives are simply not valued and as long as nobody cares about you, why not drink yourself into oblivion, unless you have learned to respect and care about yourself and see your own value. If they want to stop people drinking they need to think and work patiently and slowly to try introduce certain trends into the society. In the medium term you simply enforce the existing laws. But unfortunately the only thing that matters is dropping some bomb somewhere and egotistically proclaiming a total ban . A lot more fun and gratifying to a macho ego. The hypocrisy of this crack down apparently done in the name of caring bout the youth is utterly careless and reckless and disrespects all adults in the country. It really turns my stomach and bodes very badly for even worse impositions on society via article 44.

[aripengu]

Long live the Taliban may they be successful in enforcing the Sharia! Economy and tourism further down the drain making people happy!

[ttthailand]

Government has taken away too many sources of tea money from the police. Perhaps this is just a new means of collecting tea money that has been put into place to make the police happy. Win win except for the bar owners.

[bamukloy]

Can't they just move the Schools into a field or Park somewhere away from us Parents who are trying to drink n smoke away their inheritance before they think life's easy. Strange thing is the Kids I've spoken to wonder what some Adults ever learned..needless to say it's Thai Girls. Thai Boys can't leave Grannies Tit. Hence the dumb Rules.

At least the other industry that doesnt exist will get a fair shake...

If you cant get a beer, then walk 302 metres where you can get.....

[ikke]

This is complete nonsense, in Hua Hin "they" tried to ban Kitesurfing. It lasted 0 days. The lounges and massages on the beach were moved to one location, then to another, and soon everything will be back as usual. The only regulation left was a sensible "not more than 40 chairs per outfit"

These are rules made by overzealous sycophants to try to impress their boss.

It happens every time a new government is in power: the more you forbid, the easier for the cops to shake you down.

But its the boss who is sycophant ......

[heybruce]

In his typical rule by decree manner Praut issued an order and made thousands of legal businesses illegal, put countless jobs at risk, and further damaged Thailand's already weak reputation as a good place to invest and do business. As the full article points out, this law in unlikely to be strictly enforced, it will simply provide police and government officials a tool to extort money from previously legal businesses.

It's difficult to put a positive spin on this, but djjamie is trying.

You probably don't know how this all started. Well about here 2005-11-17 with a few periods per day able to sell alcohol, restrictions on locations, etc., etc. And time enough to prepare "Such policy will be effective from 1st January 2006 onwards."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/51117-midnight-ban-on-alcohol-now-in-effect/

I think there is a big difference between telling businesses they have to stop selling at midnight and telling businesses they have to close.

Click on the link and read a bit more.

I read the entire OP. I'm not going to read all 11 pages of posted comments. The pertinent parts were in the first few lines:

"All stores as well as venues serving drinks across the country have to stop selling alcohol at midnight, instead of 2am, effective as of yesterday, the Excise Department said.

The two daily periods when alcohol for personal consumption can be sold are 11am-2pm and 5pm-midnight, director-general Utid Tamwatin said. These hours do not apply to transactions in wholesale quantities.

The sale of liquor would also be banned starting next year at specified places including mini-marts at 10,000 gas stations nationwide, stores in school campuses and places of religious worship, he said.

The restrictions would go into effect on January 1 and stores in the listed locations would lose their licences when they expire on December 31."

Closing times at midnight. Alcohol sales in stores from 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to midnight. Liquor sales banned at gas stations, on school campuses, and places of religious worship, but these businesses were notified in November 2005 that they'd have to stop selling on January 1 2007, so they had time to prepare. The rest of your link dealt with cigarette placement and promotion in stores.

I don't agree with the nationwide midnight closing or restrictions on times of store sales, but the rest makes sense to me. I still maintain that Prayut's order is far worse. The 2005 restrictions were a nuisance for businesses, the 2015 order is a disaster.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Is there anyone else like me who is getting fed up with the attention grabbing headlines like this on Thai Visa. Only to look at the topic and find out its nothing of the sort. "Sweeping Booze Ban" ? Come off it, its nothing of the sort. Who cares if they stop selling alcohol within 300 metres of Thai Universities in some suburb. It doesn't effect me and I suspect it doesn't affect 99.9% of TV readers. Lets move on

"Two bars closed down under Junta's sweeping booze ban" is an attention grabbing headline, specifically to someone like you who is not affected? And yet you're here posting about it.

[fullcave]

Was school is session?

[Jim walker]

A new slogan for TAT soon come to dry Thailand and enjoy a good night out with a very strong coffee, and special offers to the reformed alcoholic’s around the globe and that will drag in another few million coffee drinking party goers each year. And all the bar girls hanging out in the coffee houses Starbucks girls can you buy me a lady drink please just one Expresso

[ukrules]

So I just had a quick look at google maps and it seems that the British Club in Bangkok is about 100 meters away from something called Siam Commercial College

I wonder if this or any of the other membership based clubs are going to stop serving alcohol due to this new regulation ?

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is just a stones throw away from Assumption College, this too ?

[slipperylobster]

Can't they just move the Schools into a field or Park somewhere away from us Parents who are trying to drink n smoke away their inheritance before they think life's easy. Strange thing is the Kids I've spoken to wonder what some Adults ever learned..needless to say it's Thai Girls. Thai Boys can't leave Grannies Tit. Hence the dumb Rules.

At least the other industry that doesnt exist will get a fair shake...

If you cant get a beer, then walk 302 metres where you can get.....

another way around this is just to install beer machines in the classrooms...so the kids would not take up all the seats at our pubs.

[fullcave]

There is a school less than 200-300m from Walking Street in Pattaya....

Yes I noticed, it's right next to the Russian pussy bars...