Minimum Age Raised To 25 For Buyers Of Booze

[george]

Minimum age raised to 25 for buyers of booze

BANGKOK: -- Health authorities have stepped up measures to curb alcohol consumption among youth by moving up the minimum legal age of buyers from 18 to 25 years. Narong Sahamethapat, deputy chief of the Disease Control Department, said yesterday that the idea was proposed by a network of parents early this year during a public hearing of a draft bill to control alcoholic drinks.

The measure to raise the legal minimum age of buyers is part of a national campaign to save Thai youth from alcohol abuse, he said, adding that it has already been incorporated into Article 28 of the draft.

Under the bill, the following areas will be designated as alcohol-free zones [more...]

--Bangkok Post 2006-10-14

[Totster]

Right.. so..

Thats Thailand out as a holiday destination to all farangs (and other non thais) under 25.. many of them have a good disposable income too.. shocking

totster

[udon]

A bit drastic! it will just mean loads of teenies drinking out of brown paper bags..

No booze for the Donzos

[mosquitoman]

CRAZY

[terdsak_12]

Sounds good to me, gets all the teenie boppers out the way. Not good for your KSR tourist though!!

[Axel]

Protect all the kids under 25.

Well some are kids even being 25 y.o.

Had a good laugh while reading this.

[pap]

Minimum age raised to 25 for buyers of booze

BANGKOK: -- Health authorities have stepped up measures to curb alcohol consumption among youth by moving up the minimum legal age of buyers from 18 to 25 years. Narong Sahamethapat, deputy chief of the Disease Control Department, said yesterday that the idea was proposed by a network of parents early this year during a public hearing of a draft bill to control alcoholic drinks.

The measure to raise the legal minimum age of buyers is part of a national campaign to save Thai youth from alcohol abuse, he said, adding that it has already been incorporated into Article 28 of the draft.

Under the bill, the following areas will be designated as alcohol-free zones [more...]

--Bangkok Post 2006-10-13

Sounds like a policy doomed to failure.

[ovenman]

Gosh why stop at 25? Why not just raise the minimum age for booze buyers to 50?

[pap]

"Bundit Sornpaisarn, director of an academic centre dealing with alcohol problems, said the measure to raise the minimum legal age of buyers to 25 would effectively reduce youngsters' access to alcohol. Previous studies on alcohol controls showed that the earlier teenagers were exposed to alcohol promotions, the sooner they started drinking, he said. "

I would bet that this study may have been a bit off. I would bet that exposure to alchol is what started the drinking. Its hard to drink a promotion.

[pap]

Gosh why stop at 25? Why not just raise the minimum age for booze buyers to 50?

The success of a government is measured by the number of laws it can pass. This way they have room to gradually make more laws.

[marshbags]

Minimum age raised to 25 for buyers of booze

BANGKOK: -- Health authorities have stepped up measures to curb alcohol consumption among youth by moving up the minimum legal age of buyers from 18 to 25 years. Narong Sahamethapat, deputy chief of the Disease Control Department, said yesterday that the idea was proposed by a network of parents early this year during a public hearing of a draft bill to control alcoholic drinks.

The measure to raise the legal minimum age of buyers is part of a national campaign to save Thai youth from alcohol abuse, he said, adding that it has already been incorporated into Article 28 of the draft.

Under the bill, the following areas will be designated as alcohol-free zones [more...]

--Bangkok Post 2006-10-13

Thats Thailand out as a holiday destination to all farangs (and other non thais) under 25.. many of them have a good disposable income too.. shocking

totster.........................................................................

..............................................part quote finished

This bill was introduced to stop alcohol abuse among the Thai youth and only after a network of parents voiced their concerns about it at a public hearing / meeting.

As the age old observation goes " This Is Thailand " and in this case i think it is very relevant to Thai culture and the deterioration of the slippery slope that drinking is taking it,s young down.

Perhaps we should all recognise this and not start getting off track and undermining this positive action which makes lots of sense from what i,ve / we,ve witnessed in recent times.

After all in many western countries have introduced several measure along these lines to try and stop the a.abuse they have, the U.K. has for one where there is a very big problem relating to this very important health issue.

Well done to you all in my humble opinion and hopefuly it will have the positive results it deserves.

marshbags

Edited October 14, 2006 by marshbags

[ovenman]

Gosh why stop at 25? Why not just raise the minimum age for booze buyers to 50?

The success of a government is measured by the number of laws it can pass. This way they have room to gradually make more laws.

Touché.

[OlRedEyes]

Well, there goes our beloved backpackers.

Mission accomplished.

[pap]

Well, there goes our beloved backpackers.

Mission accomplished.

I only say it is doomed to failure above jokingly. But it IS doomed to failure. The concept of the idea (saving the youth) is good. The implementation sucks. Addressing symptoms instead of the problem causing the symptoms rarely works.

This law....if not followed with a breadth of other laws... will not work. But its a nice sentiment.

But this combined with recent other changes WILL accomplish reducing backpackers that later in the future will take off their backpacks.

[Beachedwhale]

I understand the intention of the law but believe it will not truly result in a reduction in underage drinking as with many laws in Thailand the issue is not the law itself but the enforcement of the law. People are supposed to have licenses to drive motorbikes but many in the rural ares do not (and would not be old enough to have them), bars are supposed to stop serving alcohol on Buddha days and election days but there are always many well known (and connected) locations where it is possible to drink openly on those days.... etc etc

Unfortunately I believe it will just be another opportunoity for the lower level enforcers to make more money in on the spot fines and for the well connected (i.e. "service charge" paying) locations to continue to sell to whoever they see fit.

Early on in Thakins regime they appeared to understand this issue and try to get the existing laws enforced (for example- with the closing hours), but it caused so much backlash that the process stopped.

It is an extremely complex and broad issue to deal with as it requires a total revamp at all levels of government - employ the right people, pay them well, hold out against the protests, threats etc and then we would end up having the ability to enforce the laws. Also, there needs to be a better education system in the schools in general so that the youth have a better chance of good jobs and they need to be educated about the problems of alcohol and other substance abuse.

Maybe then theywould not have to be so drastic (25 is not really the youth they are talking about) and perhaps there would be a chance to achieve the intention of the law.

I agree that it is something that needs to be tackled, but just do not hold out much hope that it will be done so very quickly as writing a law takes very little money, but educting the youth and having the right administrators and enforcers takes a huge amount of money.

[eugengeri]

Don't forget your passport if you're a bit over 25 ore you look a bit younger than, if you want to buy alc!

[Totster]

I fully understand why it's been done..

The fact is though that no one will bother enforcing this law outside of the large cities and tourist areas probably, if it is enforced at all...

The problem is that the younger tourist from overseas go on holiday and like to have a party, and it's these younger adults that will return to Thailand year after year, eventually with their family, spending all their hard earned money.

The thought of a 24 year old adult from USA/Europe/Aus etc.. not being able to buy alcohol is ridiculous... and ridiculous enough for these adults to find somewhere else to go.

totster

[mosquitoman]

The thought of a 24 year old adult from USA/Europe/Aus etc.. not being able to buy alcohol is ridiculous.

totster

The thought of any 24 year old adult not being able to buy alcohol is ridiculous

This is prohibition by any other name

[monty]

Absolutely ludicrous....

When I went to the USA when I was 20 years old it was quite shocking not to be allowed to go into disco's, being asked a drivers licence in a store when wanting to buy a sixpack of beers and to be turned down as to young...

Where I come from we are allowed in pubs from 16 years on and are allowed to buy and drink booze publicily...

I dare say this is not generating more alcoholism then any other place in the world. The biggest toll the alcohol was taking was with drunk driving, which the government quite succesfully reduced with lots and lots of checkpoints combined with incredible high fines / licence suspensions.

In my humble opinion the whole social problem (sex, booze, drugs etc) starts with a very bad system of education, both at home and in the schools, where sweeping problems under the carpet and pretending they don't exist still is the norm!!!

[marshbags]

I fully understand why it's been done..

The fact is though that no one will bother enforcing this law outside of the large cities and tourist areas probably, if it is enforced at all...

The problem is that the younger tourist from overseas go on holiday and like to have a party, and it's these younger adults that will return to Thailand year after year, eventually with their family, spending all their hard earned money.

The thought of a 24 year old adult from USA/Europe/Aus etc.. not being able to buy alcohol is ridiculous... and ridiculous enough for these adults to find somewhere else to go.

totster

Of course we are all entitled to our opinions but................................................

If you understand it then why not accept that it is put in place to hopefully benefit THAIS and their young.

After all this is Thailand is it not.

In your country it maybe that it is ridiculous but in the U.K. even 24-25 year olds are becoming A. dependant and many by the way do not act / behave like 24-25 year olds especially after drinking.

marshbags

P.S.

When i witness many of these acting like Adults and not spoiling it for those that are i may re adjust my way of thinking and be more comfortable with them not being penalised in the sake of health issues and others important behavioural problems.

This is a world wide problem and involves all of us and our young Adults, be they at home or on holiday so i have to see things different to your observations.

Edited October 14, 2006 by marshbags

[kmart]

The youth don't need "saving", they need only educating. Instill a few ethics; principles; and teach them how to think for themselves, for a change.

Raising the price of buying alcohol to 25yo is utterly ridiculous. Stupid, typical "top-down" authoritarian approach to everything.

Labour isn't cheap here anymore, if this country wants to start being competitive; productive; and stop being a dysfunctional laughing stock, then its about time the education system in this country was dragged out of the prehistoric tar pit it blundered into ages ago.

[backflip]

"sweeping problems under the carpet and pretending they don't exist "

Actually, raising the drinking age is the exact opposite of this.

[kudroz]

I'm 24. Oh well...

[udon]

The words "shooting & foot" come to mind yet again with these Thai pollies..... dumber & dumber ideas never thought through.... .

[jbsears]

In my humble opinion the whole social problem (sex, booze, drugs etc) starts with a very bad system of education, both at home and in the schools, where sweeping problems under the carpet and pretending they don't exist still is the norm!!!

This is the main problem. Schools and families ignore the problem here just like with sex and cheating. Here it seems it is better to pretend the problems don't exist at home or at school. The home should be where this is dealt with. The government should not have to get involved with issues such as underage sex or alchohol use. By making the age 25, it is just supporting the notion that thais are still considered kids until 25. I know too many 20-25 year olds here that are still treated like kids already by their family. The government doing it won't help.

[jayenram]

Don't forget your passport if you're a bit over 25 ore you look a bit younger than, if you want to buy alc!

Thank you for raising that point. I must remember to carry my passport from now on.

[monty]

Backflip,

with

sweeping problems under the carpet and pretending they don't exist

I mean during the educational process! It is a very sad state of afairs that the police will have to start keeping the youth of the booze, it should be parents and schools doing that...

As long as parents and educators refuse to talk about the problems, they won't go away, certainly not with a wholesale ban!

At the moment people don't talk about "sexual education" because their kids don't need it since they won't even think about sex until way after they are married. Condom machines are prohibited at universities because it will push students into sex... Hello, they'll have sex anyway, at least let them have it safe. Whats next, a total ban on sex for under 25's???

People don't talk about alcohol and it's related problems because their children don't hang out with the wrong people and do things like that.

Just plain jane refusal...

[Spit the Dog]

Minimum age raised to 25 for buyers of booze

BANGKOK: -- Health authorities have stepped up measures to curb alcohol consumption among youth by moving up the minimum legal age of buyers from 18 to 25 years. Narong Sahamethapat, deputy chief of the Disease Control Department, said yesterday that the idea was proposed by a network of parents early this year during a public hearing of a draft bill to control alcoholic drinks.

Raising the age limit to 25 is complete nonsense. Yet again another law seems to have been introduced because a few well-to-do parents have complained that their little Khun Nu has been returning home in her BMW a bit tipsy.

The new law doesn't effect me but I work and play football with guys aged in their early 20's. So after a hard game of football in the afternoon Bangkok heat does anyone seriously think that the younger guys in our football team will sit and sip a coca-cola while the older guys tuck into their after match alcoholic beverage. I don't think so!!

[mosquitoman]

The youth don't need "saving", they need only educating. Instill a few ethics; principles; and teach them how to think for themselves, for a change.

Raising the price of buying alcohol to 25yo is utterly ridiculous. Stupid, typical "top-down" authoritarian approach to everything.

Labour isn't cheap here anymore, if this country wants to start being competitive; productive; and stop being a dysfunctional laughing stock, then its about time the education system in this country was dragged out of the prehistoric tar pit it blundered into ages ago.

Spot on - treat people like kids and they will behave like kids. Treat people like responsible adults and they will behave like responsible adults

[udon]

The youth don't need "saving", they need only educating. Instill a few ethics; principles; and teach them how to think for themselves, for a change.

Raising the price of buying alcohol to 25yo is utterly ridiculous. Stupid, typical "top-down" authoritarian approach to everything.

Labour isn't cheap here anymore, if this country wants to start being competitive; productive; and stop being a dysfunctional laughing stock, then its about time the education system in this country was dragged out of the prehistoric tar pit it blundered into ages ago.

Spot on - treat people like kids and they will behave like kids. Treat people like responsible adults and they will behave like responsible adults

Good posts.