Showbiz celebs under fire over alcohol posts on social media

Among these stars are Pakorn Lam, or Dome, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, or VJ Ja, Virithipa Yamnam, or Woonsen, and Wichian Kusolmanomai, also know as DJ Petjah.
Their Instagram pictures sparked a major controversy as the law prohibits alcohol being advertised because of the road carnage it causes and other social issues.
The Youth Network of New-Face Drinker Prevention yesterday lodged a complaint with Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, demanding that action be taken against the stars.
Their pictures clearly show the logo of a beer brand.
“I will instruct the Office of the Alcohol Control Committee to look into the issue,” Piyasakol said.
He said that judging by the pictures, the celebrities might have violated the law.
Piyasakol’s secretary Dr Kittisak Klabdee said the law stated that the celebrities could be punished even if they were not paid to promote the beer brand.
“If a company hired them, that company will be punished too,” he said.
Kittisak said the law against alcohol |advertising applied to all people, not just famous figures, and anyone could land in |legal trouble if they posted pictures of alcohol products on social media.
Teerapat Kahawong, coordinator for the Youth Network of New-Face Drinker Prevention, said the use of celebrities’ testimonials in such subtle advertisements could mislead youths into wrongly believing that drinking alcohol was cool.

Idol worship
“Many children and youths see celebrities as their idols,” he said.
Earlier this week, Pakorn Lam tried to control the controversy by announcing he would remove the offending pictures from his Instagram account.
Associate Professor Kalyakorn Worrakullatanee, who teaches advertising at the Thammasat University’s faculty of |journalism and mass communication, said she believed the simultaneous postings of products from the beer brand was not |coincidental.
“The pictures come with captions that describe the products in the same direction,” she said. “It’s quite clear that these postings are a part of new PR or advertising strategy.”
Kalyakorn wants the authorities take action against this form of advertising.
She expressed concern that some people, particularly youth, might not be aware they viewed advertisements in disguise and ended up copying the behaviour.
“Alcohol consumption can lead to many problems, such as road accidents, domestic violence, and unwanted pregnancies,” Kalyakorn said.