User:Seligne/Alcohol

Thailand has the highest alcohol per capita consumption in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Southeast Asian region. With consumption at 7.2 litres of pure alcohol per year among those aged 15 years and over, it is above the global average of 6.4 litres. According to the Global Burden of Disease project, alcohol consumption is one of the four leading health risk factors in Thailand, together with tobacco, diet, and hypertension.

Alcohol Control Act B.E. 2551 (2008)

The Alcohol Control Act of 2008 took effect on 14 February 2008. Nearly 13 million people – one-fifth of the Thai population – signed a petition in support of the act when it was first proposed.The act created several administrative bodies to guide alcohol policy and set out rules governing the sale, marketing, and use of alcoholic beverages. Administrative bodies created were:

• National Alcohol Beverage Policy Committee: A 14-member ministerial body, chaired by the prime minister or vice-prime minister.
• Alcohol Beverage Control Committee: Chaired by the Minister of Public Health
• Bangkok Alcohol Control Committee
• Provincial Alcohol Control Committee
• Office of Alcohol Control Committee: In the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health

As of 1 January 2016, alcohol sales within 300 metres of an educational institution or temple were banned.

Culture and alcohol

Thailand's alcohol-related laws are influenced by Buddhism's fifth precept: avoid intoxicants. There are regulations that seek to curb alcohol consumption in the country. Examples include bars and clubs being forced close at midnight and laws prohibiting alcohol sales on certain religious holidays, with sales restricted to certain hours during regular days. Police have begun to strictly enforce 2008's Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which bans displaying the names or logos of products in order to "induce people to drink such alcoholic beverages, either directly or indirectly". Police announced their intention to more closely patrol social media and charge those found breaking the law. That means even if your favorite actress wasn’t being paid for her endorsement and really was just sharing a photo with a drink by the pool or on a night out, she could find herself facing a 50,000 baht (about US$1,500) fine for indirectly inducing drinking.

Eight local celebrities were fined in mid-2017 for posting selfies with alcoholic drinks on social media, with Thai Asia Pacific Brewery and Boon Rawd Brewery Co. (the producer of Singha beer) also implicated in the case.

In August 2017, three bar girls were arrested after making a Facebook Live video inviting people to come enjoy a beer promotion.

A government spokesman observed that, "This law was put into effect due to the rapidly growing costs of alcohol to this nation. Alcohol-related accidents have increased significantly in recent years. While the government makes 70 billion baht ... per year from alcohol tax, the cost to the government is upwards of 150 billion baht".

Hours of sale

Alcohol may only be sold by shops for 10 hours daily, from 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to midnight.

(Oh yes it has!!! This original law goes back to 1965 and is part of the "Child Protection Act". It wasn't enforced until 2002 when the act was modified. Then the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security insisted that the act must be strictly enforced....... and so we have this ridiculous and illogical law.)

Prohibitions

• No sales are allowed to anyone aged under 20 years, or anyone who is obviously drunk.
• No initiatives promoting alcohol – such as happy hours, free ice and mixers, or the use of "beer girls".
• No drinking is allowed after midnight in bars or restaurants, even if alcohol sales ended at midnight
• No alcohol logos are allowed on glasses, ashtrays, and other bar paraphernalia. No display of posters or bottles – even old, empty bottles featuring such logos.
• Alcohol logos, or images accepted as representative of brands, are not allowed to be displayed in sponsorship or any kind of advertising or promotion
• Bar staff cannot wear T-shirts with alcohol logos
• No promotion of events such as wine and beer tastings
• No promotion of alcohol through word of mouth. A waiter asked to recommend a particular wine would be breaking the law if he responded.
• All printed photographs of glasses or bottles in the media must have all visible brands and logos blurred.

Essentially all promotion of alcohol is now illegal.

– All alcoholic drinks packaging must carry a clear and government-approved health warning, and a list of ingredients. It must be stated clearly on the packaging that this is an alcoholic beverage.

• No consumption of alcohol in the following areas:

-temples or religious places (unless alcohol is used in religious ceremonies)

-public spaces belonging to the government (except for private residences within said area)

-governmental buildings (apart from club houses, special designated areas for commerce and private residences, or during special events)

-education centres (apart from residences, parties or clubs, or if the education centre is teaching how to mix alcohol)

-petrol or gas stations

-public parks

-anywhere else the government announces

Alcohol cannot be sold on the Magha Puja, Visaka Bucha, Asarahabucha, and Khao Phansa religious holidays, except in hotels.

– No sales of alcoholic beverages are allowed by automated machines, non-location-specific sales are banned (ie. no mobile bars or wandering around selling), and no promotions, offering rights, points, lucky draws or awards and no freebies of any kind including swaps and exchanges are allowed.

– No images of alcoholic drinks, including photography, and logos in any language which "invite" the public to drink alcohol are allowed.

– For television, movies, video, electronic formats and all advertising mediums showing images, logos must not be bigger than five percent of all advertising space. The time in which the logo is shown cannot be more than five percent of total advertising time and no longer than two seconds. Advertising can only be done between 22:00 and 05:00, and the logos can only be shown at the end of the advertisement.

– For print media, advertisements containing alcohol logos cannot be more than five percent of all advertising space, and advertising cannot be on front or back of publications, nor the middle fold.

– For other media (websites), logos cannot be larger than three percent of advertising space.

Ads must include one of five mandated boilerplate text warning messages:

1. Alcohol can cause cancer
2. Alcohol can lower sexual abilities
3. Alcohol may lead to paralysis or death
4. Alcohol is the cause of argument and crime
5. Alcohol damages families and society

For television, films, videos, electronic, or all advertising media showing images: sound or text warnings must be perfectly clear down to each syllable and last no more than two seconds. In text versions, the text must be in Thai Angsana New Bold or similar font in white on a black background and readable. The text must be no smaller than one-third of the black frame, which must be clearly different in colour from the ad's image, be in a square occupying no less than one quarter of the advertising space, and cover the entire top of the advert. The same applies to printed media.

Duty free

One litre of wine or liquor may be transported into Thailand under duty free regulations.

See also

• Alcohol advertising in Thailand
• Public holidays in Thailand

References

Category:Alcohol in Asia Category:Alcohol in Thailand Category:law of Thailand