A new draft decree from the Ministry of Industry and Trade that proposes a ban on sidewalk alcohol sales has come under scrutiny for being “ill-conceived and unfeasible,” according to Thanh Nien.
Though the decree’s writers acknowledged the social role alcohol plays in Vietnamese society, they said that more regulation was required:
“…[A] society can only hope to establish a healthy relationship with drinking when it does a good job of regulating the production, trade and consumption of alcohol.”
According to market survey company Eurowatch, Vietnamese beer consumption stands at 32 liters per capita, “...making the country the top consumer in Southeast Asia, third in Asia (after China and Japan) and 28th in the world.”
The World Health Organization’s representative to Vietnam, Takeshi Kasai, said that “consumption of alcoholic drinks is common among more than 70 percent of Vietnamese men, of which one of every four people drinks at harmful levels.”
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An anonymous ministry official added that the draft document "reasonably" proposes a ban on alcohol sales in schools, governmental offices and hospitals.
“But it would be difficult to ban alcohol sale on the sidewalk because street food has become a major part of the consumer culture,” he said. “Such a ban may be possible in some countries, but not in Vietnam."
Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Hanoi Supermarkets’ Association, had a pretty realistic reaction to the draft decree:
“It is not much different from similar unfeasible drafts we've seen in the past, including an 8 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales, a calendar regulating the use of on vehicles with odd or even license numbers and a plan to disqualify narrow-chested people from obtaining a license to drive a motorbike,” he said.
Even Phan Chi Dung, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade questioned the ban’s feasibility:
“It would be very difficult to monitor and enforce this ban if it took effect. At issue here is the self-awareness of the sellers and buyers.”
