Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet has instructed the Ministry of Information to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Commerce to establish a specific code of conduct for alcohol advertising.
The Premier made the instruction while chairing a weekly cabinet plenary meeting at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh this morning.
Besides, he advised relevant authorities to review the advertisement of alcohol, especially that on billboards in public places to be appropriate to contribute to reducing traffic accidents caused by drink driving.
At the closing ceremony of the two-day annual meeting of the Ministry of Information held here on Jan. 23, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet urged the General Commissariat of National Police to further strengthen their action against drink driving to prevent road accidents, a leading cause of deaths and injuries in Cambodia.
The Prime Minister called for review of alcohol control measure to avoid this problem, and reminded all TV stations to stop
asking people to go to the stage and open beer cans, which is a serious mistake, as well as urged journalists to collaborate in preventing the alcohol promotion and increasing the public awareness of the effects of alcohol.
In early January, the Ministry of Information has re-circulated a ban of any inappropriate promotion of alcohol on media, especially on TV.
H.E. Sar Sokha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior also voiced his concern over the increasing traffic accident cases caused by drink driving, pointing out that in 2023, traffic accidents killed 1,952 people.
Under the existing Road Traffic Law, anyone who drive under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.4 to 0.8 is an offence punishable by an imprisonment from one to six months and a fine of up to 4 million Riel (about US$1,000), while those caught driving with higher than 0.8 are subject to even further penalties.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse