He urged Thai drinkers to switch to fruit juices and herbal teas - which are cheaper than alcoholic drinks - during Buddhist Lent starting today.

The ministry has also asked public health officials to set a good example to the public by reducing or refraining from alcohol consumption during the Lenten period, he said. According to figures from the Alcohol-Related Problems Research Centre released on June 5, Thailand's consumption of liquor, beer and wine has increased steadily in recent years. In 1998 the country was ranked 50th in the world for overall alcohol consumption. It was 44th in 1999, 43rd in 2000, and moved up to 40th place in 2001, Pinij said.

Statistics from the Thanyarak Institute - an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre - show that from 2004 to May 2009, 4,408 alcoholic patients checked in for treatment and rehabilitation. Most of these patients (3,906 were male, and 816 were between 35 and 39 years of age) sought treatment because their health had deteriorated and they wanted to quit drinking.

One third (34 per cent) of the patients said they consumed

alcohol because of peer pressure, while one in four said they were curious and 24 per cent said they drank to socialise and for entertainment.

Increased drinking has led to a high rate of alcoholism, Pinij said.

Children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics than others, he added.

Public Health permanent secretary Dr Prat Boonyawongwirot said alcoholism led to a 20 per cent higher rate of liver cirrhosis. Heavy drinkers were at risk of earlier death, while liver donations for transplant were rare, he added.

Medical Services Department director-general Dr Chatri Bancheun warned that the effects on the body of prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks - more than four drinks a day for men and three drinks for women - include brain damage or deterioration, partial memory loss, sexual impotency, coronary and artery disease, intestinal bleeding, liver cirrhosis and abnormal blood circulation.