Students chat while choosing roses at a flower shop in Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng area yesterday ahead of Valentine’s Day today.

Metropolitan Police commander Pol Lt-General Wiroj Jantharangsee said young girls should keep four guidelines in mind. They are: Don't leave an opportunity open, Don't expose "your stuff", Don't give a green light, and Don't disregard prevention.

Wiroj did not spell out clearly or explicitly what each "Don't" meant, although the tips were published and highlighted clearly on fliers to be distributed to young girls today.

Pol Colonel Worawat Amornwiwat, chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Juvenile and Women's Protection Division, called on young girls to heighten their self-protection awareness level when alone or with boyfriends at six types of locations deemed "risk areas": cinemas, public parks, night-time entertainment venues, motels, boys' homes or their own homes.

Meanwhile, an Abac poll released yesterday found that more respondents paid more attention and higher regard to the Buddhist celebration on Makha Bucha Day (March 3 this year) than to Valentine's Day - 57 per cent this year, up from 49 per cent reported last year.

The poll, which surveyed 1,289 people aged 10-24 from February 10-12, also found 67 per cent of respondents agreed with mainstream campaigns aimed at preventing youngsters from having premature or unprotected sex today.

Some 56 per cent of respondents said they had no relationships and wanted to give their love to their parents. Popular activities chosen for the day by those in or not in a relationship were seeing movies (42 per cent), eating out (33 per cent), making a donation or doing charity work (20 per cent), reading and studying (39 per cent), shopping (32 per cent), going to a park (11 per cent) and spending time at nighttime venues (6 per cent).

Meanwhile, rose sellers in Bangkok's Pak Klong Market have tripled their prices, because of low supply due to cold weather and high demand ahead of Valentine's Day. Most rose buyers have been schoolgirls and university students.

Locally grown red and white roses that normally cost Bt50 to Bt70 are being sold at Bt300 for a bunch of 50, with pink ones going for Bt400 for 50 and a bunch of 10 of the biggest Chiang Mai roses for Bt350, one flower vendor said. Jumbo long-stem roses imported from China were sold for Bt100 per plain flower and up to Bt180 with decorations, she said, so decorated Chinese roses could hit Bt300 each today.

Prices were slightly higher than last year, due to lower supply caused by last year's major flooding and cold weather over the North and in China, where most flowers are grown, another vendor said.