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THAILAND WILL BAN ONLINE ALCOHOL SALES TO CURB UNDERAGE DRINKING, INDUSTRY PROTESTED

By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET

16-9-2020



Credit: David Mathews

Thailand will ban online sales of alcohol from early December this year, citing that online sales has led to the problem of underage drinking.

The new regulations, which will come into effect this year, carried a maximum fine of 10,000 baht (USD321) and a prison sentence of up to six months if found guilty.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has given rise to online sales of alcoholic beverages, especially on the social media where promotions and home delivery services are offered,” Deputy Minister of Public Health Satit Pitutacha told Thai local media upon announcing the plan to ban online sales.

“There’s no age, time, or location restrictions, resulting in uncontrolled access to alcohol and difficulty in enforcing the alcoholic beverage control law,” he added.

The legal age of drinking is 20 in Thailand, and alcohol is already prohibited from being sold in areas such as schools and parks in addition to stores having limited hours to operate.

Reuters news agency reported that Thailand’s alcohol trade has recently submitted a petition to parliament against the ban, saying it will hurt small businesses.

“Don’t use the youth to ban online alcohol sales,” said Supapong Pruenglampoo, a representative from a craft beer network, told Reuters.

“It does not protect the youth, but is a way to stop small sellers and benefits convenience stores, destroying online businesses,” he added.

Thanakorn Kuptajit, president of Thai Alcohol Beverage Business Association, called the ban "absurd." “It’s the result of the government’s big lies,” he told Thai local media.

Several online alcohol retailers in the country have also stated that they already enforce age checks when selling their products.

“We check the ID of our customers when we deliver,” Jerome Le Louer, owner of Wishbeer, an online alcohol store, told Thai local media.

He added that online alcohol sales is not the only way underage drinkers purchase their alcohol, which makes the ban redundant.

As a Buddhist country, Thailand adopts strict rules on alcohol sales. The country banned alcohol sales at shops for three weeks in April as part of social distancing measures.

(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)

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