Parliament urged to consider three Alcoholic Beverage Control Act drafts at the same time

The first, proposed by Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi assistant professor Charoen Charoenchai and 10,942 citizens, was included in a Parliament session on Wednesday.

The second draft proposed by network coordinator Teerapat Kahawong and 92,978 citizens has been under online public hearing since February 4, while the third, proposed by the Public Health Ministry, is currently under Cabinet consideration.

“Hence, we would like to inform the Parliament president, opposition and coalition chiefs that three drafts of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act should be considered at the same time,” Teerapat said.

The main draft of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act focuses on reducing the impact of alcoholic beverages on people, especially advertisement control under Section 32, as manufacturers use their logos to produce other products, such as drinking water and soda, which could be linked to their alcoholic beverages.

There are also many improvements in the draft act, such as enabling officers to fine drinkers, specifying roles of alcoholic beverage sellers, granting rights to get compensation from drunk drivers, implementing rehabilitation measures for alcohol addicts and promoting public sector participation to tackle alcohol related issues.