Public health ministry okays alcohol ban options

The two options, initiated by Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodi, are banning sale of alcohol everywhere during the entire period or banning sale of alcohol at stores but allowing restaurants, pubs and hotels with an Excise Department permit to serve booze from 6pm to midnight.

The ministry came up with these two options after listening to all parties involved, including anti-alcohol groups, academics, manufacturers and business operators.

The idea is to control the impact of drinking and saving lives rather than prohibiting it altogether. The ministry said it is not siding with manufacturers, traders or anti-alcohol groups.

According to a recent study conducted by the public health ministry, people are injured every two minutes and there is one death every 20 minutes during festive periods.

Another survey showed that 94.63 per cent of foreign tourists believe that even if the government were to ban the sale of alcohol during Songkran, it would not affect to their decision to visit Thailand. They say they were visiting the Kingdom to soak in the culture.

Wittaya said he would soon be submitting a proposal to the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, to make a final decision on the issue.

Sanan, however, said a strict enforcement of laws to control drunk driving, such as setting up more checkpoints to monitor the level of alcohol in drivers' blood especially in small roads where the most accidents occur, would be a better measure than banning alcohol during Songkran.

"I'm not opposed to a total ban, but I want to take a systematic approach," he explained.

Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa said he did not agree with the public health ministry's plan to ban alcohol sale during Songkran, as it would destroy the festive atmosphere. Instead, he said, the government should put off plans to ban alcohol until next year, because the country badly needed to boost its tourism.

"We agree with the ministry's plan to ban alcohol sale, but it should not be done this year," he said. "We will lose a lot of tourists if we stop them from purchasing alcoholic beverages. The government can issue a ban when the economy returns to normal.

"We have to remember that tourists bring money to Thailand and we must take advantage of this. So I ask the government to put off the ban."

Meanwhile, coordinator for Stop Drink Network, Khamron Chudecha, said the Alcohol Watch Network and its allies wanted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to remove Sanan from his post as chairman of the national alcohol committee if he failed to ban alcohol this Songkran.

"It is true that most accidents occur at small roads, but it is also true that most accidents are caused by drunk people driving to purchase alcohol," he said. "As a deputy prime minister who overlooks social problems, Sanan should consider the ministry's proposal and issue a ban to protect people's lives."

The network is also thinking of proposing that the government set stricter penalties for drunk drivers.

The Thai Rural Doctor Society's secretary-general, Dr Pongthep Wongwatcharapaiboon, said Sanan was not the right person to lead the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control because, as a wine trader, he had a conflict of interest. So, he said, Abhisit should remove Sanan from the panel.