Title: Navigating Thailand’s Complex Alcohol Laws: A Guide for Tourists and Locals
Alcohol laws in Thailand always leave room for interpretation. Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub has linked the relaxation of alcohol laws on five Buddha holidays to the need to promote tourism because foreign arrival numbers continue to disappoint. It’s a partial pardon with international airports and hotels in the clear, together with the more ambiguous categories “places holding major events” and “nightlife venues in designated areas.”
But alcohol still cannot be sold on Buddha days in restaurants, food halls and stalls, supermarkets or convenience stores. Borderline outlets include mama and papa stores which still abound throughout the country and have a proud record of ignoring restrictions on selling beer and whisky. The legal age for buying booze anywhere anytime remains at 20 years although the person serving it could be just 18.
The Thai Senate is currently considering whether retail booze sales should be legalized between 2 pm and 5 pm in the afternoon and after 11 pm. This rule of 1972 was introduced by a military government to dissuade workers from enjoying extended lunch hours, but has become largely redundant as the restriction doesn’t apply to bars, clubs, licensed restaurants and most hotels. Insiders say that the ancient junta edict is likely to be overturned in time for the next high season.
Advertising alcoholic drinks is decidedly a no-no in Thailand as no actual bottle or brand name can be shown. The companies selling Chang and Singha beers get round the ruling by promoting their own brands of water or coffee. The general idea is that you see an advert for non-alcoholic drinks and mentally make the connection with stronger stuff. So far no companies have been carpeted for their enterprise and initiative.
Thailand and all her neighbors continue to ban booze on election days, although the restrictions can be anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. But booze laws in other countries also have their peculiarities. In Cambodia, there is currently no minimum age for buying or consuming alcohol, but the police often tear down posters promoting beer brands even though they are not actually illegal. In the Philippines, it is actually illegal to drink alcohol whilst riding a horse, whilst in Laos you can be fined for buying a drink for an intoxicated person.
Further afield, Bolivian law specifies that a married woman is restricted to one glass of wine in public and, in El Salvador, you could be subjected to a firing squad for drunken behaviour. So we shouldn’t be too harsh on the odd inconsistency in Thai rules and regulations which, after all, are there to discourage excess. As Elizabeth Taylor once said, “Getting drunk isn’t a spectator sport because the whole family eventually gets to play.”
