With the Council of State ruling the advertising ban illegal, the ministry has decided to adopt an anti-tobacco weapon which involves the use of warning pictures depicting the ugly side-effects of smoking.

It is preparing to put forward a proposal to force liquor companies to put warning pictures on labels.

The committee tasked with controlling alcohol consumption was planning to include the step in its latest package of measures aimed at curbing liquor abuse, Dr Narong Sahamethaphat, the deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department, said.

If endorsed by the Cabinet, warnings would be put on alcoholic beverages, including pictures showing the risks and harm associated with drinking alcohol and strongly worded text similar to that on cigarette packets, he said.

Narong, a member of the committee, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would draft this part of the proposal.

A source from the FDA, which had originally proposed the advertising ban, said current text warnings on liquor containers were directed by the Food Act of 1979. There were three approved warning messages, including selling alcohol to people under 18.

If the alcohol control committee wanted to impose new warnings for labels, it would need to get approval to issue a new announcement under the Food Act.

But before it could do that, it would need to consider the opinions of all concerned parties including the alcohol companies, while providing strong evidence and statistics to back it up.

Then it would be required to circulate the draft of the announcement to member countries of the World Trade Organisation for comment.

"The chance of getting permission for such an announcement is extremely slim," said a source familiar with the procedure.

"Still, it's quite the wrong way to go. If the aim is to curb alcohol consumption, [it should be remembered] drinkers tend not to pay attention to warning labels before buying or drinking."

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation