The initiative of Alcohol Control in Thailand
• In June 2003, an initiative of advocating for regulations on alcohol consumption control and alcohol advertising ban were informally discussed among a group of ThaiHealth leaders led by Prof. Dr. Udomsilp Srisaengnam and Dr. Suphakorn Buasai. The consultation included how ThaiHealth should work with the Ministry of Public Health and a proposal for an alcohol-free campaign during Buddhist Lent in July 2003. During the meeting, ThaiHealth’s Board of Directors agreed that ThaiHealth should be more involved on the alcohol and tobacco control.
• Later in June 2003, a working group was formed. They organized a meeting with involved parties including potential partners and allies. The discussion covered alcohol and its related problems, statistic and the proposal of alcohol-free Buddhist Lent campaign. In the meeting, all parties agreed on launching the campaign. The Executive Committee to administer the Campaign and the Organizing Committee to implement the Campaign were formed. The main concepts and media presentations for the campaign were formulated. The participants agreed upon the use of the slogan - “Vow to Stop Drinking for Lent”, the creation of a logo, and the implementation strategy for the campaign through partner organizations.
The first Alcohol-Free campaign
• The working group and partners started planning and launching the Alcohol-Free Buddhist Lent campaign by creating a social trend. The effort was implemented through television commercials and broadcasting, press releases, meetings with the Prime Minister, and an announcement of the policy adoption by the Ministry of Public Health. The biggest promotional event for this campaign took place right before the beginning of Buddhist Lent at Buddha Monthon, the center for Buddhist sacred place in Nakorn Prathom province, on 12 July 2003.
• From this point, there were many partners participated and carried on the project by sharing knowledge and cooperatively working together under the same goals in a way that had never been seen before. A partial list of jointed partners included Wat Thammakai, the 41 campuses of the Rajabhat Institute, the International Association of Buddhists, Sathira Dhammasathan, Wang Noi Moral Development Center, Alliance of Runners for Fitness Clubs in Thailand, Santi-Asoke Network, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Network of Development Monks, Health Professional Working in Community and the Armed Forces.
• During this campaign, “Friends Helping Friends Foundation” played an important role in coordinating media, taking vows, and providing advices via telephone.
• The campaign was evaluated during the end of Buddhist Lent. ABAC Polls conducted an opinion poll and found that 84.7% of the population had seen the campaign promotional materials and 94.5% agreed with the campaign. Out of the sample group of drinkers, 55.9% gave up drinking in 2003. These results were satisfied.
• During the last part of the Lent, the working group planed a follow up campaign by organizing alcohol-free Kathin offering a collection of activities.
The establishment of StopDrink Network
• In October 2003, the working group organized a meeting of the StopDrink assembly and invited all stakeholders to form the StopDrink Network. As a result, ThaiHealth officially established the StopDrink Network Board of Directors, with representatives from partners and having Prof. Dr. Udomsilp Srisaengnam as the Chairman. The Board of Directors and the Network partners joined in carrying out activities for the New Year and Songkran Festival in 2004.
• Around this time, ThaiHealth foresaw the need of an office and full-time staffs to manage the StopDrink Network and to provide support on campaign activities and the movement of the network’s partners. ThaiHealth therefore invited Mr. Songkran Phakchokedee to lead the establishment of the office for StopDrink Network in April 2004. Mr. Songkran had been one of the leaders in the campaign movement from the very beginning.
• The Network later became an organizing, coordinating, and strategizing agency. The Network managed a budget of 11,334,500 baht (approximately $324,000 USD) to carry out the work of the Network and a budget of 60 million baht (approximately $1.7 million USD) to support the Network’s partners during the period of April 2004 – April 2005.
This project was implemented under 5 strategies:
1. Reducing the number of underage drinkers
2. Building a model for alcohol-free zone.
3. Building a social value and a new culture for being socially accepted without using alcohol.
4. Encouraging partners to be self-reliance and to use their skills to run campaigns.
5. Coordinating strategies with the legal provisions and academic Subcommittees of the National Alcohol Consumption Control Commission.
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