'plan B' For 24-hour Alcohol Advert Ban

[george]

'Plan B' for 24-hour alcohol advert ban

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry has a back-up plan to ban alcohol advertising if legal moves by the Food and Drug Authority are today prohibited by the Council of state.

The ministry would get the Public Relations Department to stop liquor ads from being aired 24 hours a day, a senior official said yesterday.

It depended on whether the council maintained its earlier ruling that a ban on advertising imposed by the FDA was invalid as the agency did not have a mandate to enforce it.

Dr Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department and secretary-general of the Alcohol Consumption Control Committee (ACCC), said the Council of State would today conclude a review of its previous ruling with additional opinions on the FDA's proposed ban.

Narong said if the new ruling confirmed the FDA's move was a "no-go", he would propose at the ACCC meeting today that the Public Relations Department seek Cabinet approval to extend the time it prohibits liquor ads to 24 hours a day.

The department had told him that this was possible. It had said the previous ban, which only allowed liquor ads from 10pm to 5am, was found to have helped to reduce drinking.

FDA secretary-general Siriwat Thiptaradol said that if the council upheld its previous ruling, the FDA would have to back off and do nothing more.

But if it gave the go-ahead, the agency could carry on with the ban. All government agencies were obligated by the Cabinet to follow the Council of State's rulings, he said.

If given the green light, Narong said the FDA would send officials around the country to explain the ban.

--The Nation 2006-12-28