"I'm not saying the brewer can't give away the calendar, but they aren't allowed by law to advertise their products in such a medium," said Dr Narong Sahamethapat, a deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department.

With the local beer's brand name running alongside photos of three sexy nude models, the calendar could be against the law taking effect on December 3 which prohibits all forms of alcohol advertising, with limited exceptions such as live telecasts of foreign sports events and foreign magazines, he said.

If the company wants to continue distributing its calendar, it must not carry the brand name, pictures of the alcoholic beverage and any other materials aimed at advertising, said Narong, who also belongs to the national committee on alcohol consumption control.

And even those who were lucky to get the calendar before December 3 need to be careful about how they show it.

"If you hang it on your bedroom wall, that's totally fine," he said. "But if you put it where it can be seen by public eyes, such as your grocery store, that could cause trouble."

The Food and Drug Administration, which had pushed the alcohol ban to become law, will today discuss what to do with the calendar issue, secretary-general Sirwat Thiptharadol said.

It was also speeding up drafting the guidelines for the booze ban before it comes into effect, he said.

On Monday, the Public Health Ministry explained the law to the Council of State in response to a complaint lodged through the prime minister.

An alcoholic beverage company had questioned the ban and the Council of State - the government's legal advisory arm - was expected to rule today on it.

The directive had passed a panel of legal experts before it was proposed and the ministry was definitely sure it was legitimate, Narong said.

Some novel advertising tactics aimed at slipping through loopholes in the law were increasingly seen in commercials for alcoholic drinks these days, he said.

"This confirms that advertising does have an impact on alcohol sales - if it didn't, why bother?"

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation