Thailand statement of the week: Alcohol sales ban of 3 hours for supermarkets is ridiculous and outdated!
This week a statement about the ridiculous measure to ban the sale of alcohol in supermarkets for 3 hours.
You go shopping and the supermarket and you buy some cheese to enjoy tonight. A nice white wine goes well with that. You walk to the huge drinks department and are surprised to see that you are not allowed to buy alcohol because it is 16.00 p.m. That must have happened to many tourists and the occasional expat.
The daily ban on the sale of alcohol in supermarkets in Thailand is a measure that dates back to the period of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The rule, which bans the sale of alcohol in shops and supermarkets between 14pm and 00pm, was introduced as part of a wider initiative to tackle alcoholism in Thailand. This also included introducing earlier closing times for bars. Although the original law dates from 17, it was revised and strengthened under Thaksin's administration.
However, Thailand wants to attract more and more tourists and as a result the closing times of the catering industry are being extended from 02.00 a.m. to 4.00 a.m. Then it is certainly time to abolish the retarded measure of a time slot on the sale of alcohol.
If you want to tackle alcoholism, banning sales before 3 hours is of course an idiotic measure. It is better to start with:
- Information campaigns: Awareness campaigns can help to increase public awareness about the risks of alcohol abuse. These campaigns can be targeted at schools, communities and through media. The aim would be to promote healthier attitudes towards alcohol consumption.
- Treatment and Rehabilitation Programs: Investments in treatment and rehabilitation programs for people with alcohol dependence are crucial. This includes providing access to medical care, counseling and support groups.
- Limiting alcohol advertising: Stricter rules surrounding alcohol advertising could help reduce the attractiveness of alcohol, especially among young people.
- And especially enforcement by the police: Catch Thais and foreigners walking drunk on the street. Regularly conduct large-scale alcohol checks in traffic and confiscate their car or motorbike for 7 days if they have drunk too much, plus a heavy fine. Caught more than once then confiscate your driver's license.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Then respond and tell why.
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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That really won't stop sales! At other times you can stock up on supplies. You can also stock up on alcohol ban days; the small Thai shops also sell, otherwise you sit in a coffee shop and ask the clerks to order the alcohol for you. Then someone comes with the desired items and you pay in cash. Tip for the shop lady and you go home with the alcohol you want. In Nongkhai there was a German who served beer in coffee mugs on closed days...
It's for the stage only. Just as they occasionally clear out a whorehouse, the press adds, 'look at our vigilance...', a few ladies from Laos cross the border with a lot of fanfare, and the next day they are open again... The police live off that trade!
I think it's ridiculous that this closing time for alcohol still exists, just like the days when alcohol is not allowed to be served due to holidays or days of mourning.
After living here for 4 years, I'm quite used to it and I make sure my refrigerator is always stocked.
Moreover, I always know a few shops in my village where you can buy something.
But for a tourist this is really inexplicable.
Apparently this inexplicable only applies as long as it concerns the drug Alcohol. For example, when people talk about XTC, many people find it more than normal that this is not always and everywhere for sale. Lots of hypocrisy.
Yes Josh,
I passed the Makro checkout with 2 packs of Heineken0.0!!!
Solli Sil, no alcohol now!
“Yes, all right, but this is 0.0% alcohol!!”
“Yes but beer”
After explaining the product to 3 “managers”, I was able to pay
ICT
I experienced the same thing in Lotus, after a lot of palaver, I still got my point by pointing out that the vinegar also contains 5% alcohol and in some perfumes they sell
Correction: the ban is from 0:00 to 11:00 and from 14:00 to 17.00:11, that is a ban of 3 + 14 = 11 hours per day. In other words: you can buy alcohol from 00:14 to 00:17 and from 00:3 to midnight, or 7 + 10 = XNUMX hours.
Just now, at three minutes to 11, a farang stood in front of the cash register, swearing and ranting that he could not pay for his alcohol, which was already on display in front of the cash register. "Three more minutes sir." Life is hard.
Probably because the time of purchase is stated on the receipt and one could actually check when the beer was purchased.
That cashier will only do what she/he was told.
Certainly, I am not criticizing the cashier either.
I didn't think it was ridiculous at the time. It was set up to curb high school students' alcohol consumption. But it was soon outdated: The stuff was secretly sold in all sorts of back alleys. I would get a few bottles of Lao Kau there for my swag and a few crates of beer for myself.
It was just knowing the way.
so for high school students and then you start selling alcohol during the lunch break and close when classes are in session...
I would do it just the other way around
Alcohol is a drug like any other. People always find some way to get it. As with all intoxicants, prohibition makes little sense.
Dear,
There are restrictions on the sale of alcohol all over the world. In Dutch supermarkets, alcohol may not be sold after 2000 hours.
And as described earlier. People are familiar with it, so stock up before those times. And keep a close eye on Buddhist holidays on your calendar. It's not like there's some kind of reclamation going on?
Best regards,
Are people familiar with it? So do you agree with the statement?
At least not me. When I go shopping and want to buy a bottle of wine, I find it inappropriate that I have to adapt to an absurd rule that completely defeats the purpose. Let this nonsensical rule be stopped immediately.
Anywhere in the world? I can't remember when I couldn't buy alcohol in Belgium 🙂
The ban on the sale of alcohol after 20 p.m. was a corona measure. The cabinet did not want people to get drinks elsewhere and then get drunk together while the catering industry was closed. These measures no longer apply.
In Dutch supermarkets, alcohol may not be sold after 2000 hours. According to me, this was a corona measure, it has long since been abolished, if not then that says something about my alcohol purchases in the Netherlands...
Regards Jan.
With us in Rotterdam you can simply buy alcohol in the supermarket
When I'm with the family we drive to a store nearby, you can always buy alcohol there when they are open and the opening hours are very long, I have never stood in front of a closed door.
So yes this is a ridiculous and idiotic rule.
I was once in Lopburi on December 5 and could just order a glass of wine there if it was no problem that it was served in a mug.
You can say that this is an ineffective measure. Someone who wants to drink will find it and know where to go.
I have a few nice anecdotes about that:
– my neighbor, I call him Professor Gobelijn, had a joke about it: between 14 and 17 p.m. the teachers and students are at school. Then they don't sell any alcohol at the 7/11.
– going to dinner in a restaurant on a non-alcoholic day. Asked if we could have a glass of wine with our meal: no problem, the police never come here. What was sitting at the table next to us? At least 10, in uniform, policemen and women. They were drinking merrily, naked, whiskey…. the police never come there!!!
We, as permanent residents of Thailand, know this inconvenience. If I go to Makro and need wine or brown Loa beer to cook, I just have to make sure that I am at the cash register before 14 p.m. I always take that into account.
No one actually knows yet why this rule was introduced, so it is best to abolish it, cannabis can always be bought online and it can even be advertised, which is not possible for beer, even on Buddha days this can be bought. Understanding who can…555
Especially 7-Eleven, for example, must adhere to this rule, no matter how many times I was standing in front of the cash register with my drink at 1 minute to five, I know that it has a bad purchasing policy, by the way, on Samui and other islands they were less difficult, but of course a ridiculous rule if you could just have a beer in the café next door
Once at the 7/11, too early? No problem. You were given your drink, paid but the amount was written on a piece of paper. As soon as it was 17:00 PM, the cash register was tapped for that drink and that amount. This went well until a new manager came.
I don't understand what people are concerned about, when I read the previous responses everyone will be able to buy their much-needed alcohol for home.
In a bar or restaurant, alcohol is regularly served in a mug or opaque cup between 14:00 PM and 17:00 PM, but in tourist places, the ban on alcohol at those times is not observed at all in bars and restaurants, even Here in Isan, alcohol is normally served at those times in the bar/restaurants where many farang frequent.
The small family supermarkets have already lost many customers to the large shopping centers and the many supermarket chains such as 7-Eleven, Lotus's go fresh, Mini Big C, etc., which are popping up everywhere, so leave those small family businesses open during those hours. earn something extra from the sale of alcohol and related items such as chips, snacks and soft drinks.
The question is of course why this restriction on sales was ever introduced and whether the measure is effective.
I have not done any research into it, but I estimate that the measure was introduced to limit not so much the sale but the consumption of alcohol (In Thailand it mainly concerns spirits and not beer because the Thais are not beer drinkers) .
Such a measure is only effective if there is some degree of control and sanction and the effectiveness increases when the consumer himself sees the usefulness of it and applies self-control.
If you look around you, it goes without saying that the effectiveness of the measure is 0,0. The Thais do not support it and alcohol is for sale everywhere during prohibited hours. The control of the plotie is minimal and only in supermarkets with a central cash register system is there apparently a blockage to purchasing alcohol at the prohibited times.
The range of measures has now been expanded to include a ban on alcohol and smoking within a radius of 500 meters from school buildings. In the 7eleven at the bottom of the building where my faculty was located, alcohol and smoking equipment were not for sale.
I recently read that the government plans to abolish thousands of measures and laws. Well, this measure can certainly help with that.
If it is a measure to combat alcoholism, they have missed the mark.
I have never seen so many alcohol addicts as in the countryside in E-Saan. You can buy alcohol in local shops everywhere with the exception of 7 Eleven shops.
I think it's a ridiculous law for that reason alone. It does not work. So against!
If it is stated that the goal is not to allow pupils/students to buy alcohol during the break, then that is an excellent goal for me.
It can bother us, because we drink very little, we don't take it into account...
However, I do not agree with the statement, because alternatives mentioned include "information campaigns" and "enforcement by the police". If there is something that does not work in Thailand, it is those 2 measures.
Consider, for example, the annual misery around Songkran.
But, if something is done about this - and information and enforcement start to work - then Thailand will become a completely different country; you cannot have selective information and enforcement work.
I don't think the ban comes into effect at 23:00 PM, but at 00:00 AM, but that's besides the point. Naturally, not a drop is consumed less, but it does cause inconvenience and less distribution of customers in supermarkets throughout the day. In short, a nonsensical rule, but rules are not there to serve any purpose in Thailand and often conflict with common sense. One function of rules is that they make it clear who is in charge. So the government or an employer. Thais are not encouraged to think, but to obey. Not that this works, because a good rule such as compulsory helmet use is structurally ignored.
In 2008 I was in South Africa and was confronted with the same crazy rule in the afternoon. Large fences for the shelves. At first I didn't know what those fences were for and pushed them aside, resulting in a very indignant shop assistant. Reason, also reducing alcoholism. Does that help? I do not think so.
New Year's Eve, just after twelve, let's get a nice cold beer for us, no way, I really thought that was a downer.
No, but it is of course still possible in a bar around that time. Not anymore at 7/11. Don't make the problem bigger than it is and go to a bar.
A few smart ones must have thought about maintaining these times. We Farangs will probably never understand that.
But it doesn't bother me personally. I hardly drink and I like it, because during the hours when alcohol is not allowed to be sold, it is also slightly less busy in the supermarkets.
Then that is exactly the time when I go shopping.
And the alcohol-free days? I won't miss that one glass I drink a month.