Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Anything and everything about Thailand
Post Reply
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Gaybutton »

Personally, while I agree in principal that longer drinking hours brings greater risks, I also agree that it is both wrong and futile to try to treat adults like children. If people want to drink, maybe they won't be able to in bars, but they'll find a way,

Maybe Thailand will start seeing its own version of speakeasys.

Image

Where's Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, Bugs Moran, Joe Bonanno, Legs Diamond, and Lucky Luciano when you need them? Maybe their Thai counterparts already exist.

"I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919."
- Lee Strasberg (Hyman Roth), 'The Godfather Part II'

_______________________________________________

Bid for more drinking hours fails

by Apinya Wipatayotin

November 26, 2022

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee on Friday dismissed a private sector proposal to extend the period of selling alcoholic beverages at night venues until 4am.

The committee's prime concern with the proposal was a potential increase in road accidents due to increased alcohol consumption, said Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, chief of the Department of Disease Control, who is also the committee's secretary.

He said the panel, in their decision, was concerned that more accidents would greatly burden medical staff.

Along with the private sector, the Tourism and Sports Ministry proposed to the government in September to consider allowing night entertainment venues at major tourist destinations such as Koh Samui of Surat Thani, Phuket, and Khao San Road in Bangkok to stay open later than 2am or until 4am to boost tourism.

However, Dr Tares said the committee considered all aspects involved -- health, society, and the economy -- and found that it was improper to extend the period of alcohol sales.

"Its impact is immense if the period is prolonged. We don't want to see increasing numbers of accidents," he said.

The committee's study found that an extended period of alcohol selling would increase road accidents by 27%, and the number of road fatalities would be up to 10-20 cases per day.

If there were aggressive law enforcement activities, such as police checkpoints at night, it would help prevent drunken drivers by 30-50%, but it might not reduce fatalities, he said.

Currently, the law allows alcohol sales during two periods; 11am-2pm and 5pm to midnight for vendors and until 2am for night entertainment venues. The private sector says such hours are insufficient for the tourism industry.

Dr Tares said that the final decision would be made by the National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee headed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The meeting is scheduled for Dec 22.

The panel also approved a plan to require provinces to provide the details of their alcohol control efforts every six months.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/24 ... ours-fails
_________________________________________________________________________________

Thai Alcohol Control Committee opposes selling booze till 4 AM

By Tanakorn Panyadee

25 November 2022

The Thai Alcohol Control Committee opposed a proposal to extend the legal hours for selling alcoholic beverages to 4 AM, citing a potential rise in traffic accidents.

Dr. Opas Karnkawinongpop, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, revealed to Thai reporters today, November 25th, after completing a meeting with the Alcohol Control Committee that the committee initially opposed the idea of allowing the sale of alcohol from 5 PM to 4 AM.

The committee said it was too long because it meant alcohol could be sold for 11 hours per day, which could increase alcohol-related health problems, injuries, and casualties.

Dr. Opas stated the chance of drunk-driving-related accidents could also rise by more than 27% or 10-20 casualties per day if alcohol was allowed to be sold from 5 PM to 4 AM despite all-night police checkpoints.

The Thai Alcohol Control Committee had already considered the economic benefits of the proposal, but still had agreed that the extension should not be mandated, Dr. Opas added.

Nonetheless, the committee’s objection was only a suggestion, which would be forwarded to the National Alcohol Beverage Policy Committee for consideration on December 22nd.

Dr. Opas said the objection against extending alcohol sale hours had nothing to do with another proposal to extend the legal closing hours for entertainment venues.

Technically, the two rules are separate notes TPN media, and even if the Thai Cabinet agrees to extend nightlife closing hours in theory alcohol sales hours would also need to be legally extended.

The Thai Cabinet is set to meet Tuesday, November 29th, to discuss extended nightlife hours in tourism zones.

https://tpnnational.com/2022/11/25/thai ... till-4-am/
gerefan
Posts: 727
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:33 am
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 87 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by gerefan »

The title is rather misleading. The bid hasn’t “failed”.

It is purely a recommendation that the hours will not be extended.

The final decision on whether it will be allowed will be made on 22 December, according to the article.
User avatar
Undaunted
Posts: 2567
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:47 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 368 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Undaunted »

Unless it is a karaoke or some such place I see little or no reason to be open past 2 AM.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:40 am Unless it is a karaoke or some such place I see little or no reason to be open past 2 AM.
Why would a karaoke need to be open past 2am?
gerefan
Posts: 727
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:33 am
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 87 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by gerefan »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:06 am
Undaunted wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:40 am Unless it is a karaoke or some such place I see little or no reason to be open past 2 AM.
Why would a karaoke need to be open past 2am?
Because those are the sort of places bar staff go to after their bars close at 2 a.m?
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Gaybutton »

gerefan wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:19 am Because those are the sort of places bar staff go to after their bars close at 2 a.m.
That makes no sense to me. Alcohol is served in karaokes. If nothing else, diehard farang drinkers could also go to karaokes along with Thais who have nothing to do with working in bars. I thought that's what the powers-that-be are trying to prevent.

Am I missing something? Are karaokes legally open past 2am now? As far as I know karaokes fall under the same rules bars have to follow.
Dodger
Posts: 1926
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 2:58 am
Has thanked: 133 times
Been thanked: 479 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 6:06 am Why would a karaoke need to be open past 2am?
There's a healthy market in Pattaya for late-night partyers, and in the past karaoke clubs always filled this gap.

Most of the good karaoke's don't even start to get rolling until midnight - so closing at 2:00AM wouldn't work.

I imagine there'll be plenty of tea money floating around if they don't change these restrictions.
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Gaybutton »

Unfortunately it is looking more and more that the venue hours and drinking hours will not be extended. Most likely it will remain last call for drinks at 1:00am and closing time 2:00am.

For more on this see Pattaya News, beginning at 1minute, 20 seconds in: viewtopic.php?f=3&p=109096#p109096
User avatar
Undaunted
Posts: 2567
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:47 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 368 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Undaunted »

There should be 2 different Licenses I for regular bars open till 1…..and I for nightclubs/karaokes open 4am +.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
User avatar
Gaybutton
Posts: 21461
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
Location: Thailand
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1306 times

Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 3:12 pm There should be 2 different Licenses I for regular bars open till 1…..and I for nightclubs/karaokes open 4am +.
The trouble is I'd say the odds of them actually doing that are somewhere between zero and zilch.
Post Reply