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.
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'
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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
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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/
Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
- Gaybutton
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
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.
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.
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
Unless it is a karaoke or some such place I see little or no reason to be open past 2 AM.
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
Why would a karaoke need to be open past 2am?
Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
Because those are the sort of places bar staff go to after their bars close at 2 a.m?
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
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.
Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
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.
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
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
For more on this see Pattaya News, beginning at 1minute, 20 seconds in: viewtopic.php?f=3&p=109096#p109096
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
There should be 2 different Licenses I for regular bars open till 1…..and I for nightclubs/karaokes open 4am +.
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Re: Bad bar news. Bid to extend drinking hours to 4:00am fails
The trouble is I'd say the odds of them actually doing that are somewhere between zero and zilch.