Govt seeks to increase minimum alcoholic-beverage purchase age to 25

The minimum alcoholic-beverage purchase age is going to rise from 18 years old to 25 years old, if the Alcoholic Beverage Control Bill sails through the legislation process.

The bill will first be tabled before the Cabinet Tuesday, according to Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla.

If approved, the bill will ban all alcoholic-beverage advertisements in all media except ads attached in live TV programmes being broadcast from overseas. Advertisements for other products sharing the same trademark as alcoholic beverage will also be banned.

Failure to comply with the ad conditions will be punishable by a maximum one-year imprisonment term or a maximum of Bt100,000 fine, or both.

Moreover, the bill required manufacturers and distributors to attach warning messages on alcoholic-beverage packages.

The Nation

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

It`s a brave move for any government to try to further restrict alcohol sales, such is the power of the alcohol manufacturers, and the will of the people in general. Upping the age limit seems a sensible move however, though perhaps the age of 21 would find a middle ground, as it is in the U.S.

I read somewhere that Thailand is the 4th or 5th highest alcohol consuming country in the world. Certainly there is a need to reduce alcohol consumption in Thailand but 20 or 21 would be more logical. There are also a lot of younger tourists that visit Thailand from Western countries (in the age group 20 - 25) with high disposable incomes that benefit the tourist industry and increasing the age to 25 may have an effect on tourism