BANGKOK, 18 August 2015 – The government is in the process of developing an outline of the zoning regulation that bans restaurants from offering alcohol in areas around educational institutes. The code is expected to produce results within six months.
Director of the Office of the Alcohol Control Committee MD Saman Futrakul has informed the media that the National Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO) 22nd order of 2015 that prohibits the sale of alcohol within the vicinity of any educational institutes still has shortcomings in terms of exact areas that are affected by the regulation. However the order is organic and can be specified to better suit the context of an individual institute. The nature of the order also indirectly implies a lack of clarity and continuity of the regulation.
He said the Office of the Alcohol Control Committee would, for now, follow the code issued earlier by the national alcohol policy committee by imposing an alcoholic beverage sale ban within at least a 300 meter radius of an educational institute.
The National Council for Peace and Order is coordinating with related units to conduct inspections in affected areas near schools and universities nationwide. The NCPO is expecting tangible results within six months, saying it would request a weekly report from related agencies, in order to evaluate and adjust the regulation effectively. The council aims to establish the order as a national law.
