Polathep Vichitkunakorn

Alcohol Control Policy in Southeast Asia: A Descriptive Review - Sawitri Assanangkornchai, Wit Wichaidit, Gianna Gayle H. Amul, Ian Yi Han Ang, Surasak Chaiyasong, Pheak Chhoun, Chean Lin Chong, Andre... Southeast Asia plays a vital role in the global alcohol trade, with rapid economic growth and increasing intra-regional travel contributing to shifts in alcohol...

New in APJPH: ASEAN alcohol policy vs WHO “SAFER.”
✅ Progress: drink-driving, availability, ad limits
⚠️ Gaps: AUD care, digital marketing, unrecorded alcohol
ASEAN-level coordination needed.
Read: doi.org/10.1177/1010...

#AlcoholPolicy #ASEAN #SAFER #PublicHealth #HealthPolicy

Open Access - Automated Detection of Digital Alcohol Marketing Using SCANNER: An Integrated Deep-Learning Approach

Florentine Martino, Navoda Liyana Pathirana, Luai Saif, Asim Bhatti, @kbackholer.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/dar....

@deakinuniversity.bsky.social

Health ministry pushes tighter alcohol controls near educational sites Department of Disease Control has completed public consultations on a draft ban on alcohol sales in and around educational institutions, with exact radius to be announced later.

"Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, through the Department of Disease Control (DDC), has completed a public consultation on a draft regulation that would ban the sale of alcoholic beverages in and around educational institutions."
www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/p...

CAS Thailand and @camhnews.bsky.social Canada (Jurgen Rehm and Kevin Shield held a joint meeting & workshop (15–16 Jan 2026) with two objectives: alcohol control policy under the new Alcohol Act, and preparing a joint grant on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) using linked survey data.

The "Triple Win" Outcome 🏆
Smart taxation isn't a burden; it's an investment: ✅ Health: Fewer accidents & NCD deaths. ✅ Fiscal: Sustainable state revenue. ✅ Social: Reduced violence.
Support the push to close the #CrisisGap!

3️⃣ End Policy Contradictions 🛑
We can't fight NCDs while cutting taxes for tourism.
• Cancel the 0% wine tax cuts.
• Crack down on illicit alcohol (unrecorded market).
• Raise licensing fees to fund prevention

2️⃣ Fix the Structure & Minimum Pricing (MUP) ⚖️
Cheap, strong white spirits are taxed too low compared to beer. ✅ The Fix: Align tax rates and use Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) to stop dangerously cheap sales. Evidence: MUP reduced deaths by 13% in Scotland.

1️⃣ Automatic Inflation Indexing 📈
Stop tax erosion. Alcohol taxes must rise automatically with inflation every year—not just when politics allow. Goal: Increase retail prices by 50% by 2035 (WHO '3 by 35' target) to save lives

🚨 Thailand's Alcohol Crisis: By the Numbers
Drinkers hit 20.9 Million in 2024 (+5M in just 3 years). The economic cost? 165 Billion THB/year.
The cause? Inflation is making alcohol cheaper in real terms. Here are 3 Urgent Tax Reforms proposed to the NCD Committee 👇 #AlcoholTax #TaxForLife #Thailand

Tax isn’t just about revenue.
It shapes behavior—and health.
Join our panel & Open SPACE on Health Taxes: alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks & salt.
📅 Jan 12, 2026 | Bangkok
#HealthTax #NCDpolicy #AlcoholPolicy

🌱 Dry January 2026
1 month alcohol-free = better sleep, heart & liver health, clearer mind.
Some things don’t need to continue—so your health can. 💪
📞 Quitline 1413
#DryJanuary #CAS

🎊 Published (03 Nov 2025) in Primary Health Care Research & Development (CUP): Thai chronic disease patients’ experiences after the 2022 cannabis policy change. Key message: use cannabis products cautiously—avoid use without medical guidance. doi.org/10.1017/S146... #Cannabis

Mentor, New Gen-HPSR—building capacity of early-career researchers in health policy & systems research to support evidence-informed health system strengthening.

Joined a panel on Advancing National Health Workforce Indicators for Health Workforce Development in Thailand on 29 oct 2025—great discussion on practical indicators to strengthen health workforce management and planning.

Centre for Alcohol Studies with the Thai NCD Network Association, hosted a public forum on 11 Dec 2025:
“Alcohol: An Accelerator of NCDs—and solutions to protect Thai health.”
Evidence + multi-sector dialogue + policy options to reduce #AlcoholHarm and strengthen #NCD prevention.

Representing Centre for Alcohol Studies (CAS), Thailand, at the APAPA–SEAAPA Regional Networking Meeting 2025 in Bangkok (8–10 Oct).
Strong regional collaboration to advance effective #AlcoholControl.
#APAPA #SEAAPA #CAS

​Thailand's decision to unlock alcohol sales 14:00–17:00 (since Dec 2) puts the economy before safety. 🇹🇭🍺
​As New Year travel peaks, we warn of a tragic surge in drunk driving mortality. The cost of this policy will likely be measured in lives.
​#Thailand #RoadSafety

อนุกรรมการบำบัดผู้ติดแอลกอฮอล์ เคาะใช้ “ยาเลิกเหล้า” เพิ่มเข้าถึงรักษาผู้ติดสุรา | Hfocus.org ที่ประชุมคณะอนุกรรมการด้านบำบัดรักษาหรือฟื้นฟูสภาพผู้ติดเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ ไฟเขียวใช้ยาเลิกเหล้า Acamprosate และ Naltrexone เพื่อการบำบัดรักษาในไทย

Big step for Thailand 🇹🇭 in tackling alcohol dependence.

The national sub-committee just approved the use of Acamprosate & Naltrexone as “anti-alcohol” medicines—expanding access to treatment and pushing for full ICD-10 coding so hospitals can get reimbursed properly.

www.hfocus.org/content/2025...

Just published in IJADR 🎉

ASEAN collaborative protocol on alcohol policy → consumption → life expectancy / economy (2000–2023) 🌏📈

Co-funded by @who.int Western Pacific and Centre for Alcohol Studies (CAS), Thaihealth 🤝

🔗 ijadr.org/index.php/ij...

#ASEAN #AlcoholPolicy

Association between caring for drinkers and the sociodemographic factors of caregivers in Thailand: data from the WHO-ThaiHealth project - BMC Public Health Introduction This study aimed to determine the prevalence of various kinds of care for drinkers in Thailand and investigate the relationships between the sociodemographic factors of caring and the experiences of caring for drinkers. Methods Secondary data from the World Health Organization (WHO)/ThaiHealth International Collaborative Research Project were analyzed. The survey included 1,695 participants aged between 18 and 70 years from four regions, and Bangkok. The data were collected using face-to-face interviews and collected a range of data on the impact of alcohol on others. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regressions are presented. Results Among 1,580 respondents, approximately 695 respondents (45.41%) had given at least one type of care for a drinker in the last 12 months. Respondents took extra responsibility for cleaning the house of drinkers after drinking (n = 476:31.22%), followed by spending time caring for a drinker (n = 317: 21.48%) and driving or picking up a drinker (n = 301:19.82%). Men had a higher proportion of giving care than women (55.65% vs. 38.23%), with significant differences in all types of care (p-value < 0.001). Approximately two-thirds of respondents aged 18‒39 years reported giving any care for people who drink. Respondents who infrequently drank five or more standard drinks per day were 4.11 (95%CI 2.49 to 6.76) times more likely than non-drinkers to report giving any care, while those who frequently drank five or more standard drinks were 4.51 (95%CI 2.44 to 8.31) times more likely than non-drinkers to report the same. Discussion and conclusions The study showed that the burden of caring for drinkers was more likely found in males and was positively associated with more drinking. Thus, a policy approach that reduces consumption would reduce the impact on the prevalence of caring for others.

Recently published in BMC Public Health: WHO-ThaiHealth shows ~1 in 2 Thais cared for a drinker in the past year 😮 Cleaning (~31%) • rides (~20%). Reducing heavy drinking = less burden on families & workplaces. @who.int @moph.neocities.org
...
doi.org/10.1186/s128...

Thai context: episodic heavy drinking among men remains high; festivals/payday weekends are risk windows; online marketing increases youth exposure. As Thailand strengthens alcohol control, a WHO SAFER package can complement national suicide-prevention efforts.

JAMA Network Open meta-analysis (13 studies) shows that each +1 L increase in per-capita alcohol consumption (APC) is associated with ~3.59% higher suicide mortality, with no sex difference. Alcohol policy should be integrated into suicide-prevention strategies.
doi.org/10.1001/jama...

"Contrary to some claims that marketing is about market share rather than increasing consumption, the evidence base, comprising 26 studies, suggests that there is a relationship between marketing and consumption"

- Public Health Scot's alc marketing review

publichealthscotland.scot/media/34628/...

Big Alcohol/Tobacco/UPF are blocking health reforms. Meanwhile in Thailand, the new Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (No.2) B.E.2568 adds industry reps to the national alcohol-control committee; provincial/BMA rules pending.
...
🔗 www.reuters.com/business/hea...

The 2–5 PM alcohol sales ban is still enforced in Thailand. This remains in effect pending sub-regs under the newly promulgated Alcohol Beverage Control Act (No. 2) in the Royal Gazette.

⚠️ Evidence shows: longer sales hours & easier access → more crashes, violence & health harm.
WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan (2022–2030) calls for stronger restrictions, not relaxations.
CAS urges policies that truly protect people, esp. youth & families.

#SAFER #AlcoholPolicy #PublicHealth

🔎 Key changes in the 2025 Act:
(1) Alcohol industry & business reps added to the National Control Committee.
(2) Allows alcohol vending machines (with ID checks).
(3) Permits drinking in govt offices for “special events.”
➡️ A shift away from the 2008 Act’s public health focus.

Thailand’s Alcohol Control Act (first enacted in 2008) has been amended.
📢 The 2nd Act was published in the Royal Gazette on Sept 9, 2025.
⚠️ CAS is concerned: new relaxations may increase youth access, health harms & social violence.

#AlcoholPolicy

ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/83...