For the Thai government, it certainly does. Since the establishment of the Alcohol Control Act in 2008, reducing alcohol consumption has figured prominently on the government's list of priorities. The Act introduced a number of regulations that we are now familiar (and possibly frustrated) with, including bans on direct advertising of alcohol on television, the stipulation of times for the purchasing of alcohol, and the raising of the minimum drinking age from 18 to 20-no, the staff at Citylife didn't know this either!
This past June, various pubs and entertainment venues in Chiang Mai bore the brunt of the policy's enforcement. In one incident, the police investigated six pubs leading to the arrests of 26 underage drinkers, as well as hefty fines for the pubs in which they were caught.
In late May, Chiang Mai governor M.L. Panadda Diskul called for the closure of ten (unnamed) entertainment venues, and even paid a personal visit to pubs to ensure that regulations were being enforced. In his statements, Panadda echoed an old and oft-repeated message that pervades the existing legislation - that alcohol was a major cause of social and economic problems in society.
However, Chiang Mai's night life scene seems unfazed - just a few days after the arrests, tourists, teens, and regulars were back at their haunts again. At one particularly crowded venue, I asked a bar owner if he was concerned about bars and pubs being closed down by the authorities. He merely shook his head and laughed. "It's not going to happen," he said.
And the teenagers themselves don't seem to be particularly worried.