Thailand: Brewery Singha Corp threatened to take legal action against the Public Health Ministry, which said advertising ban treats all brands alike
The Public Health Ministry defended on November 7th its controversial alcohol advertisement ban, saying the legislation is not discriminatory because it will be enforced on both local and imported liquor brands. The move came after the country's leading brewer Singha Corp threatened to take legal action against the ministry if it found the law, to take effect on Dec 3, discriminated against the company, Bangkok Post communicated.
''Any alcohol producer can take the matter to court if it feels the measure violates its rights. But whether or not the court would accept such a case is another issue,'' said Saman Footrakul, head of the tobacco and alcohol control bureau.
A Singha executive earlier demanded the ministry clarify the scope of the ban to find out if the company could continue to use its logo and yellow background to promote its products at beer gardens in Bangkok during the festive season.
The company representative also claimed it was unfair since the international brand Heineken displays its Red Star symbol with the words ''Green Space'' to promote its beer garden, whereas locally-produced Chang featured a white logo with a blue background to remind consumers of its brand image.
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) ban covers logos, symbols and theme colours of alcohol products. Names of liquor companies would also be banned from being broadcast on air if they are similar to the alcohol brand or contain alcohol-related words, such as brewery, distillery and liquor.
The measure is part of a health campaign aimed at curbing the number of young drinkers who are said to be easily persuaded by attractive advertisements for alcohol beverages, mostly broadcast on television.
Dr Saman said the Singha logo on the yellow background needed to be changed. The company was free to use other colours to promote its beer gardens.
Narangsan Peerakit, the FDA's deputy secretary-general, said the agency would set up a panel to oversee legal details of the ban. The authority would also meet tomorrow to consider if Heineken's red star symbol could be used once the law takes effect.
Meanwhile, Jade Donavanik, dean of Siam University's law faculty, dismissed the brewery firm's complaint that the ban was a double standard.
He said the ministry's alcohol advertising control measure was not against free trade principles because it affected both local and imported brands.
In addition, under Article 20 of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) 1994, each nation in the World Trade Organisation is allowed to enforce laws to protect basic rights of its population, the dean said.
If a foreign liquor producer has problems with the ban, he said, Thailand could cite the Gatt regulation to support the measure, which protects the public's health from harmful products like alcohol.
However, Mr Jade said, the FDA announcement still contains some weak points and called on the agency to plug all the loopholes because alcohol companies will try to come up with marketing strategies to exploit the law.
''Alcohol producers, meanwhile, should think about the social benefits rather than use legal loopholes to earn profits which won't help their image,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday said that the abrupt transfer of the FDA's deputy secretary-general, Manit Arunakul, who oversaw the alcohol advertisement ban, would not affect enforcement. Mr Manit is now deputy chief of the Medical Sciences Department.
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