No Alcohol campaign not getting through

Thailand currently ranks 5th on the list of countries in the world as far as the number of alcoholics is concerned, and at the recent Songkran Festival, the Thai New Year celebration, messages and campaigns warning citizens about the dangers of mixing alcohol and driving seemed to have fell on deaf ears. For the past couple of years, the Chiang Mai local government has initiated advertising campaigns informing locals and visitors of the number of deaths each year during Songkran directly related to alcohol. This year, the mayor applied designated alcohol free areas in the city where people could celebrate the New Year in a traditional way.

The message did not have the impact that organizers had hoped, as the ‘Enjoyment, Safety, No Alcohol’ campaign manager Teera Watcharapranee attests. She says thre were just as many deaths this year as last, and that road fatalities related to alcohol not only account for 50% of the accidents in Thailand, but it is costing the government as much as 2.8 percent of its gross domestic product every year.