Minimum Age Raised To 25 For Buyers Of Booze

[steakpudding]

I don't like this Means I have to wait for four more years to legally buy alcohol?

But they only say no buying, what about drinking? And what next? Under-25's banned from getting in pubs? If that happens, we will not definitely go back to LOS in December.

Hello Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam etc etc.

[cclub75]

Alcoholic-Beverage Control Bill Rejected"

Ah ah ah ! Up yours control freaks !

Common sense has still a meaning in Thailand.

[lingyai]

Alcoholic-Beverage Control Bill Rejected

The Cabinet Tuesday sent back the Alcoholic-Beverage Control Bill for further discussions among relevant authorities.

The bill is designed to impose many restrictions on alcoholic-beverage sales, including a ban on people under 25 years old age to buy the alcoholic drinks.

According to the bill, discounts and promotional gimmicks for the sale of alcoholic beverages will also be banned.

An informed source said the Cabinet extensively debated on how to implement control measures with proper balance. It also raised questions as to how to identify which person is at least 25 years old of age, which will allow them to buy alcoholic drinks legally.

The Cabinet has assigned the Education, Commerce, Industry, Social Development and Human Security ministries to send their representatives for further discussions on the bill.

The Nation"

When will the ThaiVisa mods send out an email saying oh wait we got ahead of ourselves with the title of this thread, sorry about that only accurate emails will be sent from now on.

[Chaz1819]

CRAZY

As I've said before, this is the beginning. You have a coup. You have a puppet government. You have a Muslim General running the show from behind the black curtain. Watch things change. In 2 years, none of us will want to be here.

>>

Next will come changes to the red light districts. Then dress codes for women. The puppets will start to bring the audience into line.

>>

As the Muslim faith marches north from Yala the government will rule that the teaching of the Qi'ran will be manditory in school. Imams will be brought in to teach it. Oh, Thai will still be allowed to be Buddhist, but they will be taugh about being Muslim.

>>

wow ... Public forum, so is good to hear all voices ....... but hearing those voices can be scary

[Ijustwannateach]

Somehow I think Thai culture trumps religious background when it comes to the way the government is run here.... I've never met a dogmatic Thai Muslim in the Greater Bangkok area- they seem very well integrated.

I'm glad to hear that the ritual "public & private reaction having demonstrated how insane the suggested regulations would be, they have been indefinitely tabled" reaction has finally come through. It's too bad these kinds of things can't be said in private first at some level to prevent the whole embarrassing debacle.

[MickeyC]

No more young ladies under 25 in the nightclubs????

Is this the end of nighttime sanook in Bkk?

[bkkandrew]

EXCLUSIVE REVELATIONS!

Those cabinet minutes on the alcohol discussion in full:

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): Yes – so we are all agreed on item 2 of the agenda – renaming of this cabinet the Democratic United Forum For Democracy, or DUFF Democracy.

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): OK – item 3 – introduction of bill to reduce alcohol consumption.

Ret. Gen Oldchai Chackwahl (Cultural Affairs): Although I recognize the need for action, it has come to my attention that my mia noi is only 23. Now I know that when she is with me in a public bar all rules hitherto will be cancelled, but when she goes out with her, er, cousin, Somkid Hansomeman, who is also 23, they may have problems getting in to the RCA and such like.

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): I don’t think that we can let this discussion come down to individual circumstances here.

Ret. Gen Oldchai Chackwahl (Cultural Affairs): But she has threatened to spill the beans to my wife, Yingyai Battleaxe, that I have given her the use of one of Taxin’s old homes!

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): Hmmm, I see…

Dr Mehkong Sangsom (Health): Mr Chairman – you are allowing personal interests in here! This is….

Mr Tangchai Suparich (Wealth): That is our job after all! Mr Chackwahl does raise a valid point. I have just discovered that, in fact, I own 27 different bars and restaurants. Naturally, after this discovery, I thought that I would be able to utilize this situation to carry out valuable research. Now my cashier said that profits would be down 50%, thus jeopardising my bank, er no, staff numbers!

Gen. Trongpai Bai-more-porn (Silly Walks): I must report a poor reception from my constituent base on these proposals.

Dr Mehkong Sangsom (Health): But you haven’t got a constituent base – you are not elected!

Gen. Trongpai Bai-more-porn (Silly Walks): Yes, but next best thing – I surveyed all my mia nois – and I mean all! No-one can accuse me of dereliction of duty!! And they are ALL under 25!!

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): No-one is accusing you of shirking in the hard work required to keep this stability Government, er stable, or indeed of the, er, age range you stabilise things with, but what is the point you are making here?

Gen. Trongpai Bai-more-porn (Silly Walks): Well they all said words to the effect of what’s the point of being with an old git like me if they can’t show off about it down at the pub!

Ret. Gen Oldchai Chackwahl (Cultural Affairs): And we cannot have you losing face like that!

Mr Makeitup Gowhawk (Information): I think that what everyone is trying to say is that there is no way of knowing how old someone is. For instance, just because a man is wrinkled and balding – he could be a cancer patient of only 24 years old!

Dr Mehkong Sangsom (Health): Well yes, I suppose, but what about I.D. Cards?

Mr Makeitup Gowhawk (Information): Well as Chackwahl said, his mia noi is 23. If her I.D. Card was upside-down, you could think she was 32. Yes – I know what you are about to say – subtract the date of birth from the current year, but wait, if, say a doorman of the Novatel bar used the Gregorian calendar on a perfectly respectable drinker of 40 years old, then he might make the mistake that he was, in fact, -503, therefore being under the 25 year age limit! He would then lose face and…

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): Which is what we must avoid here! Right, agreed, official policy to reject this new law as bar staff could confuse themselves when reading this transcript.

Mr Makeitup Gowhawk (Information): You mean when reading someone’s I.D. Card??

Gen. Somchai Magachump (Chair): Yes – that’s it, now onto item 4 – Visa refusal for foreigner with an “I” in their name…

Edited October 18, 2006 by bkkandrew

[Arkady]

CRAZY

Exactly,

As I've said before, this is the beginning. You have a coup. You have a puppet government. You have a Muslim General running the show from behind the black curtain. Watch things change. In 2 years, none of us will want to be here. It starts with the easy things like alcohol ... first they restrict the advertising, then change the age limit. Note that there is no curbing of access to cigarettes, despite the health risks. I think we all have had family members die of cancer from cigarettes here in Thailand.

Next will come changes to the red light districts. Then dress codes for women. The puppets will start to bring the audience into line. Some Thai will see the light and head east into other Buddhist countries or head to western lands. The rest will remain, thankful that there are more public holidays as Muslim festivals such as Ramadam are "Nationalised".

As the Muslim faith marches north from Yala the government will rule that the teaching of the Qi'ran will be manditory in school. Imams will be brought in to teach it. Oh, Thai will still be allowed to be Buddhist, but they will be taugh about being Muslim. Those children will grow up and one day accept the governments advice that the official religion of Thailand should be Islam.

Meanwile, I'll be old and grey. Perhaps while fishing from my little boat near Ko Chiang I'll remember the good old days when I could send the kids up the street to buy my beer and watch the hot Singa beer girls in advertisements on TV.

Virgil, Out!

This legislation was on the books months if not years before the current authorities took over, its the work of one man who's ID I can't remember at the this point in time.

Yes, the bill was the work of the Thaksin government. It was a knee jerk reaction to the Buddhist activists protesting about the listing of Thai Beverage which got listed anyway but in Singapore.

I don't know if Sondhi drinks or not but you can be sure that he could not have got to the top of the military if he were intolerant of the drinking and whoring of his brother officers. The above post is way over the top.

[marshbags]

The latest from the Nation breaking news:-

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30016519

October 19, 2006 : Last updated 06:13 pm (Thai local time)

Home > Breakingnews > Public Health backs down from raising alcohol buying age

quote

Public Health backs down from raising alcohol buying age

The Public Health Ministry Wednesday backed down on its proposal to raise the minimum age to buy alcohol from 18 to 25 years old.

It is now highly likely the ministry will stick to the current age of 18 years old.

The movement came after the proposal in form of a new bill of alcohol-consumption control was rejected by the Cabinet on Tuesday, saying the proposal would not work in practice.

"Personally, I didn't agree [to extend the legal age to buy alcohol to 25] in the first place," said Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, the director-general of the Disease Control Department.

"Since people of age 18 are eligible to vote, they should be mature enough to think for themselves on anything else," said the doctor. "We want it to be a practical directive, not just a piece of paper."

Unquote

At the end of the day again it,s a Thai decision and i respect their laws either way.

My health concerns do not change of course relating to alcohol abuse especially among the topics age group.

There is still a problem among the Thai,s and it needs addressing in some way.

May they cut back by parental involvement and control now they have been given back there never taken away priviliges. ( only proposed )

Especially regarding the motor cyclists and the horrific statistics need addressing.

Take the things away from them, you parents, before they also become another dead / injured number.

Do not ignore your responsibilities.

As for the advertising.........for me it,s not an issue either way

marshbags

P.S.

Thailand news Clippings are in no way at fault on this and reported it as it was at the start of the thread, in my humble opinion.

Their role is to report the news and they do not normally comment outside these perimeters, so for those saying they are at fault...................you are misguided.

Edited October 19, 2006 by marshbags

[Thailand]

The latest from the Nation breaking news:-

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30016519

October 19, 2006 : Last updated 06:13 pm (Thai local time)

Home > Breakingnews > Public Health backs down from raising alcohol buying age

quote

Public Health backs down from raising alcohol buying age

The Public Health Ministry Wednesday backed down on its proposal to raise the minimum age to buy alcohol from 18 to 25 years old.

It is now highly likely the ministry will stick to the current age of 18 years old.

The movement came after the proposal in form of a new bill of alcohol-consumption control was rejected by the Cabinet on Tuesday, saying the proposal would not work in practice.

"Personally, I didn't agree [to extend the legal age to buy alcohol to 25] in the first place," said Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, the director-general of the Disease Control Department.

"Since people of age 18 are eligible to vote, they should be mature enough to think for themselves on anything else," said the doctor. "We want it to be a practical directive, not just a piece of paper."

Unquote

At the end of the day again it,s a Thai decision and i respect their laws either way.

My health concerns do not change of course relating to alcohol abuse especially among the topics age group.

There is still a problem among the Thai,s and it needs addressing in some way.

May they cut back by parental involvement and control now they have been given back there never taken away priviliges. ( only proposed )

Especially regarding the motor cyclists and the horrific statistics need addressing.

Take the things away from them, you parents, before they also become another dead / injured number.

Do not ignore your responsibilities.

As for the advertising.........for me it,s not an issue either way

marshbags

P.S.

Thailand news Clippings are in no way at fault on this and reported it as it was at the start of the thread, in my humble opinion.

Their role is to report the news and they do not normally comment outside these perimeters, so for those saying they are at fault...................you are misguided.

[Thailand]

Common sense prevails.

[sriracha john]

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

Hmmm.... it would appear we have an employee of The Nation posting here on Thaivisa...

Do you honestly think it's purely a coincidence that ovenman "just happened" to pick the headline of an editorial appearing exactly 7 days later???

I think not.

Editorial

Why don't we just raise the drinking age to 50?

Let's also raise the driving age to 30, and those who want to enter pubs to 40. This way, officials will have an easier time determining who is violating the law.

A lady in her 40s would never be mistaken for sweet 16 no matter how sexy she might look in a spaghetti-strap top. And Bangkok should rejoice if a new driving age is enforced because it would mean fewer cars on the road, easing the daily traffic snarl.

But seriously, is this the way to go to discourage drinking?

It is, rather, an insult to any average person's intelligence. Do we need someone to determine at what age we are to be considered mature?

The intention to curb new drinkers is good, but the method naive, especially on the point of raising the drinking age to 25. In the end, the problem of controlling vices in Thailand lies in law enforcement.

It doesn't matter if it's 18, 21, 25 or 40, for the bottom line is how strictly do we enforce the law?

How many retailers got punished for selling alcohol to those under 18? How many under-age got fined? And how many drunk drivers actually got jailed for their reckless driving?

The law must also be enforced indiscriminately, meaning movie stars, celebrities and the sons or daughters of the influential would not be given special privileges no matter what.

Also, the punishments for drunk driving - and any untoward consequences that might result from drinking like brawling, causing disturbances to others, robbery, rape, etc - should be at least ten, if not a hundred, times harsher than they are.

After all, a person can become drunk no matter the age. It's a matter of choice if a person wants to drink and ruin his own health. But the harsh punishment that follows should he cause trouble to others cannot be compromised.

Another issue long overdue is making alcoholic beverages more expensive. But of course it must be a price high enough to make drinkers think twice, but not so high to the point of spawning a black market.

Meanwhile, the 'see less, drink less' logic targeted at new drinkers, which can translate into a wide range of measures including an advertising ban, is more or less acceptable. These measures should be given a chance because if not, we will never know if they would work in Thailand, as in other countries as claimed by the Public Health Ministry.

Although the advertising ban infringes on the right to know of consumers and right to tell of producers, the ban shouldn't be criticised too much. Since a lot of people believe the ban will have no effect on the desire to drink, then pulling advertisements off the air should cause no problem. With or without the advertisements, the behaviour of drinkers will still be the same.

Drinking is a way of life for many Thais. Many situations provide a good excuse to drink. To rejoice or to forget misery, drinking is often the chosen method.

Trying to make Thailand a clean, moral society requires much more than bans and punishments. It has to start with family values and education. It sounds very long-term, but instilling a sense of conscientiousness is the best defence against vice.

The younger generation must be taught how to think and distinguish between what's good and what's not. This doesn't apply only to drinking, but to smoking and gambling as well. Technology and globalisation enable anyone access to information in an instant. The advertising ban might be on in Thailand but that doesn't mean people will not be exposed to other media.

The last thing that Thailand needs is a "papa state", in which the government seems to know best. The interim government is trying hard to steer Thailand onto a moderate path and not obsessive capitalism.

A top priority is that they must find a way to educate the public and make them strong enough to withstand whatever enticement might come their way. This is very basic to a sufficiency economy.

By the way, should we also raise the voting age to, say, 30?

Veenarat Laohapakakul

The Nation

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ok, ok... an excellent article with superb writing there, ovenman...... errrrrr, I mean Veenarat

[DeathbyDurian]

When will the ThaiVisa mods send out an email saying oh wait we got ahead of ourselves with the title of this thread, sorry about that only accurate emails will be sent from now on.

I was wondering about this too... Why cause panic about a bill that hasn't even been passed?

"Bill proposes 25 y/o age drinking minimum" would have been better.