Sexy drinks sellers OK but no shop window displays

Alcohol displays visible to passers-by to be banned

Shops nationwide cannot have displays of alcoholic drinks that can be seen from outside from December 5 onwards, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
However, they can still display alcoholic drinks inside.

Thawat Sunthracharn, director-general of the Public Health Ministry's Disease Control Department, noted that the alcohol industry was subject to less strict restrictions than those imposed on tobacco companies.

Cigarette packs cannot be displayed at all, but the display of alcoholic drinks in shops, convenience stores and groceries will continue to be legal as long as passers-by cannot see it from outside.
"The measure is not aimed at preventing regular drinkers from drinking, but to block the increase of new drinkers - especially teenagers," Thawat said.

Thawat said the ministry would finalise details of the restrictions on alcohol advertising and announce these nationwide by December 3.

"Manufacturers, retailers and state officials who enforce the law might be confused about what's allowed and disallowed, so we will clarify everything before the ban takes effect," said Thawat.

FDA deputy secretary-general Manit Arunakul said alcohol advertisements on banners and billboards placed in public view will be prohibited. Advertising banners placed in front of shops must also be moved inside.

Manit said "sexy" drink promoters would be allowed to work as long as there is no logo of alcoholic products on their clothing.

Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday insisted the proposed Alcohol Control Act sent back by the Cabinet for reassessment would be enforced before the New Year as it was aimed at reducing the death toll from road accidents during the long weekend.

Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras will chair a meeting of the working group set up by the Cabinet to discuss the Act next Tuesday. The main issue to be reconsidered will be the minimum legal age to buy alcohol, initially specified at 25.

"The minimum age will be lowered to under 25, but the exact age will be decided by the working group," said Mongkol.

"It could be 21, 20 or 18 years," said Thawat. "Thai people graduate at about 22 and have the right to vote at 18. It might be too much if those people have no right to buy a drink."

The Nation.

Bangkok Post Editorial

Putting paid to alcohol abuse

Of all the hare-brained and ill-considered pieces of legislation to emerge from the Thaksin administration, the two measures which, between them, ban all liquor advertising, raise the minimum drinking age to 25 and introduce a host of other unenforceable controls stand out. They began to surface last January and should have been the first to be fed through the shredding machine when the man who inspired them was deposed. But they were not and we have had to endure a week of hand-wringing, intolerance and face-saving backdowns at the Public Health Ministry as a result.

Although cabinet objections have forced proponents of the 25-year-old minimum drinking age to retreat for now and lick their wounds, a sweeping advertising ban looks likely to come into force on Dec 5. This will throw thousands of "beer girls" _ usually students earning money for tuition fees and living expenses _ out of work while making no effort to provide them with alternative employment. They will lose their jobs in beer gardens because all advertising logos will be banned and their uniforms, sporting the brand of beer they sell, will become illegal. Other workers will join them, swelling the ranks of the newly unemployed to an estimated 30,000.

While live telecasts of overseas football matches will be spared, repeats or clips from the matches could be censored with all logos and advertising banners blacked out. Many people watch these repeats because live telecasts are often too late at night for fans who have to work the next day. Repeats of English games (especially Everton where players and banners actively promote Beer Chang), the 2008 Euro and 2010 World Cup and all international tournaments involving the Thai national team could be in jeopardy on local TV. Also at risk is the Johnnie Walker golf tournament next March, designed to boost Phuket's tourism industry. The competition, due to be telecast worldwide and attract the cream of the world's golfers, had been expected to draw 10,000 visitors. Five hundred million baht has already been spent on promotion. The Heineken Jazz Festival at Hua Hin and other concerts will disappear in their present form.

But none of these consequences of the ban would matter in the slightest if it had the remotest chance of weaning those most vulnerable off alcohol and saving lives. It would be a worthy sacrifice. We already know that alcohol abuse is a horribly real problem, fuelling domestic and street violence. It is responsible for much of the carnage on our roads, especially at Songkran. But instead of a well thought-out attempt to address the cause of the problem, there is just the illusion that something meaningful is being done. We already have a ban on TV advertising of alcohol before 10pm and if the authorities think this has little impact, what good can come of extending the ban to cover the hours when most people are asleep?

The first step in reaching a solution is identifying the problem. And that is not social drinking in a Thong Lor pub or brand logos. What causes most consumers to lose control is the demon at the low end of the market called lao khao, or white spirit. It is at least 40 per cent alcohol by volume, absurdly cheap and totally lethal. Furthermore it is never advertised so the new round-the-clock advertising bans will have absolutely no effect on sales. Bottles of the brew are flying off shelves because it carries the lowest excise tax, although it contains the highest percentage of alcohol legally available. Beer, on the other hand, which many lao khao drinkers would prefer, attracts a huge tax rate so they cannot afford it.

This is a farcical situation that must be resolved to stop alcohol abuse. First we should lower alcohol levels and revamp the excise tax system so the lower the percentage of alcohol, the lower the tax. Educate youngsters to make them aware of the dangers. Let parents teach their children to develop a healthy respect for themselves, their religion and the law. Then impose tight controls on irresponsible drinkers and prosecute them when necessary, regardless of their connections, family name or bank balance. Laws already exist for this purpose so why not enforce them? We do not need any more.