Government urged to ban drinking in public places

BANGKOK, May 23 (TNA) - The Thai government has been urged to pass a law on banning alcoholic drinking in public places to curb alcohol-related violence and promote public safety. The call has been made by Prof. Dr. Udomsak Sae-ngow, a researcher on liquor-related problems at Walailak University, saying that the principle of the proposed “open container law” is to ban drinking in public places, like public parks, footpaths and parking lots, as well as on vehicles. Prof. Dr. Udomsak pointed out a local research on alcohol and violence in 2013 found that drinking increased the risk of brawls by six times among males and 14 times among females because alcohol made consumers aggressive and worsened their judgment. Besides, a local survey on “The Harm to Others from Drinking” by the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) in 2015 found that as much as 80 per cent of respondents had been troubled by drinkers in their past year, 25 per cent of them were guardians who said their children had been in such troubles. (TNA)