While beer gardens are legal, promotional activities are banned, said Samarn Futrakul, director of the Office of Alcohol Beverage Control Committee.
"It is against the law to have activities such as celebrities and promotional girls to attract customers," said Dr Samarn, adding that beer gardens selling alcoholic beverages for specific events are permitted.
Every year during the New Year's festival, officials from public health and related government offices inspect beer gardens and arrest operators that promote alcohol for commercial purposes, he said. Inspections will continue this year.
In the past, many businesses, including operators at Centralworld, have been found guilty of breaking the law. They admitted their alcohol-promotion activities aimed to increase the volume of sales, he said. Public health officials need to cooperate with police to protect consumers, he added.
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"We can't conduct large-scale operations [to inspect all beer gardens]. We have to proceed gradually," he said, urging alcohol business operators to cooperate with the laws.
But businesses are not the only ones who should be aware of the laws, according to Dr Samarn. "Celebrities who participate in events at beer gardens will be breaking the law banning alcohol promotion for commercial purposes," he said.
While using celebrities to boost a product's popularity is a popular sales tactic, for alcohol it will be against the law if the event is held in a public space or if the celebrity only attends for commercial purposes, said Dr Samarn.
Licenced operators and celebrities can also be charged with breaking the law if there is a big display of signs, symbols, or logos of a brand of alcohol, price discounts or free samples of alcoholic beverages provided, he added.
Section 32 of the Alcohol Beverage Control Act explicitly prohibits alcohol promotion by showing the names or logos of an alcoholic brand as part of marketing.
According to the law, "marketing" refers to any activities that aim to boost product sale and brand image, including public relations, product display, event support and direct marketing.
"The law does not prohibit the selling of alcohol. It forbids promotional events because they encourage people to drink more, which can have a negative social impact on society, including higher incidents of road accidents and crime," said Dr Samarn.
Even civilians from the general public can be charged under the law if they promote the consumption of alcohol in a public place, by encouraging others to buy or drink alcoholic beverages.
Samarn: 'Promotional events encourage people to drink'
Online social media is considered public space because many users, including celebrities, do not use private settings for posts, allowing any netizen to access and view them, he said.
Meanwhile, the Excise Department's director general Somchai Poolsavadi confirmed Wednesday that licenced beer gardens are allowed at department stores and other locations.
The only locations where beer gardens, and the sale of alcoholic beverages, is not permitted is near educational institutions, religious institutions and gas stations.