World’s No. 5 | 7.04.05
I was just about to applaud this letter to the Bangkok Post’s “Postbag”:
Where does this nonsense about Thailand being number five in the alcohol drinking league come from? Is someone working on the theory that if you tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth?
I checked my The Economist Pocket Book World in Figures 2005 and Thailand isn’t even in the top 10 for beer, wine or alcohol consumption.
PETER R. ARRAND
I, too, am sick of the hypocritical puritans (and perhaps even some wily schemers) trying to bar alcohol producers from the stock exchange. But then I triple-checked and found this statistics from the WHO’s Alcohol Database:
Adult per capita alcohol consumption in 2000
in liters of pure alcohol per adult (15 years +)
| Rank | Country | Total | Beer | Wine | Spirits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moldova | 21.03 | 0.35 | 3.09 | 15.17 |
| 2 | Portugal | 16.59 | 3.87 | 7.22 | 5.27 |
| 3 | Bahamas | 15.26 | 0.78 | 1.63 | 12.77 |
| 4 | St. Lucia | 14.56 | 5.85 | 1.09 | 7.43 |
| 5 | Thailand | 13.59 | 1.12 | 0.01 | 12.45 |
| 6 | Réunion | 13.39 | 1.46 | 3.19 | 8.67 |
| 7 | France | 13.31 | 2.10 | 8.25 | 2.96 |
| 8 | Uganda | 13.10 | 4.94 | 0.00 | 0.18 |
| 9 | Slovenia | 12.60 | 3.76 | 4.66 | 3.30 |
| 10 | Lithuania | 12.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
The key difference between the World in Figures stat and this one is that whereas the former ranks alcohol consumption by value, the latter does so by volume, which is more relevant in this case.
So Thailand is indeed the world’s number five drinking country. While this fact should have nothing to do with Thai Beverages’s IPO decision, it isn’t nonsense. Good effort by Mr. Arrand, but no cigar. (Or should I say no champagne?)
Still, everyone with half a brain already knows that the Thai media does seem to operate under the assumption that if something is repeated often enough (by the media itself in many cases), it must be true.
11:41 ▪ miscellanea, media
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- 1
- Zato 7.04.05
From the WHO page you linked to: “Factors which influence the accuracy of per capita data are: …tourist and overseas consumption…”
Now judging from my visits to the in-laws, Thai’s are no teetotalers. But I do wonder that since Thailand’s tourist industry is so enormous if that doesn’t in fact skew the data beyond the point of being interpreted reliably.
- 2
- Tom Vamvanij 7.04.05
Yes, I’ve thought of that, too. But I figure Thailand’s ten million odd tourists probably drink mostly beer, which makes up less than 10 percent of the total consumption. (Keep in mind that here we’re talking about pure alcohol, of which beer has relatively low content.) That virtually all of the rest comes from spirits is very logical, as Sang Thip and Mekhong reign supreme in Thailand at the low end, and (fake?) Black Label and Chivas Regal at the high end. Tourists’ consumption of these hard liquors is probably negligible in face of staggering local (ab)use. But then again, you can never be sure…
- 3
- Zato 8.04.05
Okay, I misread the part about it being in pure alcohol form and that being the case you’re probably correct. I can state for a fact that I’ve never touched Thai whiskey. Technically isn’t even whiskey, but rather rum, neither of which I can stomach. I did however develop a taste for the rice moonshine (nahm kao?) which my seems to be in ample supply around the Thai New Year. Otherwise I’m quite happy just drinking Singha or Chang (over ice of course!).
- 4
- Tom Vamvanij 8.04.05
Beer over ice? Is that a St. Louis thing?
- 5
- Zato 8.04.05
No, it’s considered sacreligious here. I always thought it was a Thai thing but maybe it’s just Kamphaengphet.