Several outdoor markets in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces have been exploited as spaces for illegal point-of-sale advertisements for alcoholic beverages, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said Thursday.
This marketing tactic, deemed unlawful under the 2008 Act on Alcoholic Beverages Control, is aimed at attracting young people to drink alcohol and become new drinkers, said Khachonsak Chinanonwech, deputy director-general of the DDC.
He raised the prospect that some vendors may not know they are being used by alcohol manufacturers to break the law.
In its recent surveys carried out at a number of outdoor markets, the DDC found stalls decorated with attractive point-of-sale display materials bearing the trademark of alcoholic beverages, which is prohibited under the alcohol control law, he said.
Vendors of alcoholic beverages should be aware that they are being exploited by the alcoholic beverage makers, who are using the vendors to assist them in spreading their marketing communication messages to their target group, Dr Khachonsak said.
Aside from helping alcoholic beverage companies create new drinkers, these vendors were partially to blame for causing deaths and injuries associated with increasing alcohol consumption, he said.
In a survey by the DDC carried out at Talat Nok Huk market (Owl market) in Nonthaburi, DDC officials found several vendors selling alcoholic beverages at stalls that have been decorated with advertising materials provided by beverage companies.
As a result, DDC officials told the landlords to warn their tenants to abide by the alcohol control law, which they later did, said the doctor.
More outdoor markets are expected to spring up in the coming cold season, when the sales of alcoholic beverages normally peaks, he said.
Point-of-sale advertising is proven to be effective in encouraging one in three people to buy the advertised product, he said, citing results from a previous study.
Point-of-sale advertising of alcoholic beverages are considered illegal under Section 32 of the alcohol control law, he said.
Offenders could face a maximum prison sentence of 1 year, a maximum fine of 500,000 baht, or both, he said. The fine is calculated at a rate of 50,000 baht per day of violation, he said.
Members of the public are encouraged to help report any suspected case of unlawful point-of-sale advertising by calling the Office of the Alcohol Control Committee at 02 590 33 42. Complaints about any violation of the law may also be submitted to the DDC's hotline number at 1422, or at http://tas.go.th.