Should alcohol be more expensive in Thailand?
STAFF WRITER


Featured image is by .Live.Your.Life. and used under a Creative Commons licence

BANGKOK: -- Activists are demanding a tax increase on alcohol sales in Thailand, in order to discourage new drinkers and reduce medical costs for alcohol-related maladies.

The call comes from the Centre for Alcohol Studies, reports the Bangkok Post, who want to mimic the recent hike in excise tax on cigarettes – that so-called ‘sin tax’ is expected to raise an additional ฿1 billion (US$28,000) a month for the treasury and reduce the nation’s smokers by 3 percent.

But what effect would more expensive alcohol have in Thailand?

Dr Sawitree Assanangkornchai, the director of the Centre for Alcohol Studies, puts forward the danger of alcohol and it’s potential lead into health and social problems. She also correlates alcohol intake with a descent into illegal drugs for young people.

“The government should not support sin-products that harm the quality of life of Thai people. The tax on alcoholic beverages should be raised quickly, as price measures have been proven to be a primary way to solve the drinking problem, especially among new drinkers,” said Dr Sawitree.

Thailand undoubtedly has a growing problem with alcohol: 18,000 Thais die of alcohol-related problems annually while there are around 260,000 new drinkers every year, according to the National Statistic Office. These are some of the highest stats in Asia, putting Thailand among the region’s biggest alcohol consumers.

Full story: http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/should-alcohol-be-more-expensive-in-thailand/

-- (c) What's on Sukhumvit 2016-03-03

I agree...tax all sin-products which means there should be a huge tax placed on politicians.

Depends very much on if you want the poorer drinker getting smashed out their tiny minds on Lao Kao or not really.

Oh brilliant idea! Drive even more of the too poor even for the locally brewed shit 'beer/whiskeys' to Lao khao why don't you. Cretins.

"Activists are demanding a tax increase on alcohol sales in Thailand, in order to discourage new drinkers and reduce medical costs for alcohol-related maladies."

No mention about substance abuse education. When children see their elders/"role models" drinking to alleviate every pain and problem, and smoking tobacco non stop, it only makes sense that they will follow suit. Drinking alcohol appears to be a rite of passage in many cultures and societies, and if individuals have predispositions to addiction, then an increase in price won't dissuade them. Tobacco use is also seen as passage into adulthood.

This "demand" is nothing more than a ploy to increase the profits of the "sin" industries. If they were truly committed to changing the substance abuse culture, they would demand implementation of substance abuse education in all the schools, and make sure that those leading these programs aren't substance abusers themselves.

In other words, this ain't never gonna happen.

Not too bad, if only Thailand could make decent beer, like its neighbour Laos

Lao beer is a hundred times better than anything produced here in Thailand

I really don't care but wish the extra taxation went to the right places and not into some piggy politician's pocket.

If the cost is too high the farmers will start making their own illegal moonshine, which would result in higher medical treatment costs and many deaths

Ehm? No.

If the cost is too high the farmers will start making their own illegal moonshine, which would result in higher medical treatment costs and many deaths

Not just the farmers. you get out much?

Lao Khao is a much bigger problem here than ya ba and yet whichsoever snout is in the trough refuses to do anything about it. Why's that d'ya think?

Looks like a pic from the full moon party. Where they sell "magic mushroom milkshakes", drugs are freely available, and cheap (potentially illegal) booze is sold in buckets to young backpackers. Perhaps regulating this would be an improvement? LOL

edit: I use to wear contact lenses. I got off a long flight one night and wanted a drink while in Boston. Went to the local pub and was refused a drink because of my red eyes. Bartender said I'd had too much. Maybe something like this would help also. Refusing to sell more booze to somebody already over the top.

Hike taxes on tobacco then produce a thinner cheaper one to ensure addiction to the very tobacco you just hiked up, now alcohol according to Dr Sawitree hiking will reduce the consumption, where or where is your frontal lobe located ?,, sin products , well i will leave that for the Pattaya boys to reply too.

Since the OP picture shows a farang passed out from alcohol use, I guess the good doctor just wants a higher tax on alcohol consumed by farangs. Finally, someone who truly cares about farangs in Thailand...so refreshing.

If alcohol becomes too expensive, then it will only bring about the production of moonshine on a grander scale.

I always figured drinking here was similarly priced to the UK.

Beer: In Pubs and Restaurants is nearly double (in BKK anyway).

Pint of Heineken - BKK: about 150-170 baht (Eq to £340)

Decent Pint (Vedette etc) - BKK: about 270 baht (Eq to £540)

Wine: Its nearly always more expensive

Liquor: Whisky: JW Black: 1800 to 3500 baht but you can't buy by the bottle in a UK pub.

Should alcohol be cheaper ? No - Definitely not.

Just because some idiots can't behave properly it shouldn't spoil it for those who enjoy a drink and behave responsibly.

Instead, handle drunk and disorderly behaviour more seriously.

If alcohol becomes too expensive, then it will only bring about the production of moonshine on a grander scale.

Have you bothered to read this, so far, little thread?

Alcohol is ALREADY more expensive in Thailand. A bottle of Bailey's in the USA is 700 baht, while the same bottle is 1,250 baht at Big C.

Exorbitant import duties are already going into the lily-white pockets of the customs division.

this reminds me of my last visit to the Siripat Clinic. they ask each patient "do you drink alcohol?" of course I do. it's good for you. "No!" says the nurse. I explain a glass of wine or a can of beer is not just okay, it's probably good for the health. you know the story. the problem isn't alcohol. the problem is Thai culture. I don't ever refer to beer or wine as "alcohol". wine is wine. beer is a beer. only AAA and alcoholics use the word alcohol. the problem is Thai culture. drinking too much is a problem everywhere but it is on a different order of magnitude here, just as other countries have other issues. what do many Thai folks have to enjoy life? in most of the western world, the top 2 favorites are travel and reading. reading. and being able to think about what you do and how it affects your life... and having many things to enjoy. not just putting on a drunk. and the kind of tourist Thailand attracts is also part of this.

A Thai friend of mine runs a small rural hardware store in northern Thailand. You know what he sells lots of? rubber cement/glue. I asked him not to sell it to youngsters. He just shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "hey, if they don't get it from me, they'll buy it from someone else, and I won't get the money."

The more important issue is: pot and hemp should be legalized in Thailand. Hemp because no one in the world every got stoned from hemp, and it's highly useful, nutritious crop with many practical uses. Re pot. I've never heard of anyone causing a serious traffic accident from being high on pot. Neither have I ever heard of a wife-beater or rapist being fueled by pot. Alcohol is the only legal recreational drug in SE Asia, and alcohol peddlers want it to stay that way. It has nothing to do with common sense or safety, and everything to do with the cartels who control alcohol sales and distribution. Who knows, maybe doctors and hospitals are in on the deal also, because alcohol leads to many problems which compel people to go and spend money for medical and pharma drugs. Emergency wards would have less than half the activity they currently have if alcohol were banned. Same for insurance companies.

I always figured drinking here was similarly priced to the UK.

Beer: In Pubs and Restaurants is nearly double (in BKK anyway).

Pint of Heineken - BKK: about 150-170 baht (Eq to £340)

Decent Pint (Vedette etc) - BKK: about 270 baht (Eq to £540)

Wine: Its nearly always more expensive

Liquor: Whisky: JW Black: 1800 to 3500 baht but you can't buy by the bottle in a UK pub.

Should alcohol be cheaper ? No - Definitely not.

Just because some idiots can't behave properly it shouldn't spoil it for those who enjoy a drink and behave responsibly.

Instead, handle drunk and disorderly behaviour more seriously.

Sanctimonious post. You may or may not be aware that the populace overwhelmingly comprise the 'indigenous', aka THAIS. And on a mean of 300 baht per day cannot afford to buy anything other than the locally produced crap, wine would better for them but even the locally produced shit is as expensive (around 3 x more than the UK) and there will always be those who like a drink to escape their day to day drudgery. Who are you to say they shouldn't?

Your post implies that drinking 'irresponsibly', nay, at all, is for 'idiots'. Get down off of your high horse and drink your milk

Apart from lao kao, drink in Thailand is more expensive than many other countries in the region or Europe. Add to that the greed that bar owners add with doubling up or even trebling retail prices makes for an expensive night out. I can get a decent pint of beer in the UK for 2-3 quid yet a 330ml bottle of leo or Heineken in most bars is at least if not more than that. I can buy cans of Speckled Hen in Tesco for a quid...yes only 50 Baht for a big can of decent beer yet its 38 for a half size leo here...Beer in Thailand has almost doubled in the past 6 years, how far do they want to go

Here's a better photo to illustrate alcohol can do: I don't have the photo, but it's a pretty young woman who had her arm hacked off by a drunk Thai cop.

A Thai friend of mine runs a small rural hardware store in northern Thailand. You know what he sells lots of? rubber cement/glue. I asked him not to sell it to youngsters. He just shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "hey, if they don't get it from me, they'll buy it from someone else, and I won't get the money."

The more important issue is: pot and hemp should be legalized in Thailand. Hemp because no one in the world every got stoned from hemp, and it's highly useful, nutritious crop with many practical uses. Re pot. I've never heard of anyone causing a serious traffic accident from being high on pot. Neither have I ever heard of a wife-beater or rapist being fueled by pot. Alcohol is the only legal recreational drug in SE Asia, and alcohol peddlers want it to stay that way. It has nothing to do with common sense or safety, and everything to do with the cartels who control alcohol sales and distribution. Who knows, maybe doctors and hospitals are in on the deal also, because alcohol leads to many problems which compel people to go and spend money for medical and pharma drugs. Emergency wards would have less than half the activity they currently have if alcohol were banned. Same for insurance companies.

Whilst your post makes some good points I would argue that not all alcohol is the same. Compare Lao Khao/Whte Lightning with a Single Malt/Chardonnay and watch the differing effects upon the imbiber. It's the quality of the alcohol, not simply the amount.

I really don't care but wish the extra taxation went to the right places and not into some piggy politician's pocket.

some piggy politician who will buy his bottles of black label tax-free anyway

Wow, I'm a billionaire and didn't even know it.

...wait....what?

(And why is there a picture of a drunk white gut? Couldn't they find even one pic of a drunken Thai? Oh...of course not: Thais are perfect!)

" ฿1 billion (US$28,000) a month"

Mabye the reporter needs to put down his glass and pick up a calculator??

1 billion baht is NOT 28,000. USD

1000000000 Thai Baht equals

28,177.770.000 US Dollar

Raise Bt for the treasury? lol lol lol TIT brother....

Picture is of just one Farang But this is a common sight all over Thailand with THAIS completely drunk on Lao Khao. Thais just pass out wherever they fall down drunk. Many times I have had to step over their seemingly lifeless bodies, even drive around them when they sleep by the roadside.

The picture of the Farang looks like it is on or on the edge of a beach, Not on a road.