BANGKOK – In-store displays featuring alcohol advertisements will come off convenience store shelves in Thailand as part of a "total ban on alcohol advertisements from all forms of media and a national anti-drinking campaign" that takes effect at the end of October, reports the Bangkok Post.

The newspaper writes that the ban includes alcohol displays at places such as convenience stores, restaurants, outdoor beer gardens and shopping malls, as well as posters, signage and promotional materials that feature logos and brand names of liquor brands.

''The measures to control drinking will be enforced similarly to those on cigarette and tobacco products in order to reduce the number of deaths and health payments due to drinking alcohol, and road accidents,'' Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla told the newspaper. 

Dr. Mongkol commented that the uniforms worn by young women who work at outdoor beer gardens would not be able to bear "logos and names of alcohol products."

According to the newspaper, legal and health experts in Thailand are considering whether the alcohol advertising ban could also affect other materials fixtures inside beer gardens, such as chairs, tables and umbrellas. Alcohol displays will be allowed at nightclubs and pubs.

Dr. Mongkol told the newspaper that the new measure "will help reduce the number of deaths and accidents due to drinking and driving during the forthcoming long weekends such as the New Year and Songkran festivals."

Acting Justice Permanent Secretary Jaran Pukditanakul told the newspaper that taxes levied on alcohol and cigarettes should also be raised, including the taxes on such products imported from other countries. Pukditanakul also commented that the alcohol advertising ban would be "a good opportunity to persuade people to change their lifestyles as domestic violence and drink-driving cases mostly stemmed from over-consumption of alcohol."